ei^ 


JEAN    MESLIER 


SUPERSTITION   IN  ALL  AGES : 


BY 


JEAN    MESLIER, 

A    ROMAN    CATHOLIC    PRIEST, 


WHO,   AFTER    A     PASTORAL   SERVICE     OF    THIRTY    YEARS     AT     ETREPIGNY    AND 

BUT    IN    CHAMPAGNE,    FRANCE,    WHOLLY    ABJURED    RELIGIOUS 

DOGMAS,    AND    LEFT   AS    HIS 


LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT 


TO   HIS   PARISHIONERS,    AND  TO  THE   WORLD,    TO    BE     PUBLISHED  AFTER  HIS 
DEATH,    THE    FOLLOWING    PAGES,    ENTITLED 


COMMON    SENSE. 

TRANSLATED    FROM   THE   FRENCH   ORIGINAL   BY 

MISS   ANNA   KNOOP. 


NEW  YORK 
PETER  ECKLER  PUBLISHING  COMPANY 

1920! 


COPVUIGHT,    1878,   BY 

MISS    ANNA    KNOOP. 


SRLF 
URL 


PUBLISHER'S  PREFACE. 


By  translating  Into  both  the  English  and  German 
languages  Le  Bo7i  Sens,  containing  the  Last  Will  and 
Testament  of  the  French  curate  Jean  Meslier,  Miss 
Anna  Knoop  has  performed  a  most  useful  and  meritorious 
task,  and  in  issuing  a  new  edition  of  this  work,  it  is  but 
justice  to  her  memory*  to  state  that  her  translation  has  re- 
ceived the  endorsement  of  our  most  competent  critics. 

In  a  letter  dated  Newburyport,  Mass.,  Sep.  23,  1878, 
Mr.  James  Parton,  the  celebrated  author,  commends  Miss 
Knoop  for  "  translating  Meslier's  book  so  well,"  and  says 
that: 

"This  work  of  the  honest  pastor  is  the  most  curious 
'  and  the  most  powerful  thing  of  the  kind  which  the  last 

*  century  produced Paine  and  Voltaire   had 

'  reserves,  but  Jean  Meslier  had  none.  He  keeps  nothing 
'  back  ;  and  yet,  after  all,  the  wonder  is  not  that  there 
'  should  have  been  one  priest  who  left  that  testimony  at 
'  his  death,  but  that  all  priests  do  not.  True,  there  is  a 
'  great  deal  more  to  be  said  about  religion,  which  I  believe 
'  to  be  an  eternal  necessity  of  human  nature,  but  no  man 
'  has  uttered  the  negative  side  of  the  matter  with  so  much 
'  candor  and  completeness  as  Jean  Meslier." 

The  value  of  the  testimony  of  a  catholic  priest,  who  in  his 
last  moments  recanted  the  errors  of  his  faith  and  asked  God's 
pardon  for  having  taught  the  catholic  religion,  was  fully 
appreciated  by  Voltaire,  who  highly  commended  this  grand 
work  of  Meslier.     He   voluntarily   made   every  effort  to 

♦Miss  Knoop  died  Jan.  ii,  1889. 


iv  publisher's  preface. 

increase  its  circulation,  and  even  complained  to  D' Alembert 
"  that  there  were  not  as  many  copies  in  all  Paris  as  he 
"  himself  had  dispersed  throughout  the  mountains  of 
"  Switzerland."*  He  earnestly  entreats  his  associates  to 
print  and  distribute  in  Paris  an  edition  of  at  least  four  or 
five  thousand  copies,  and  at  the  suggestion  of  D' Alembert, 
made  an  abstract  or  abridgment  of  The  Testament  "so 
' '  small  as  to  cost  no  more  than  five -pence,  and  thus  to  be 
*^  fitted  for  the  pocket  and  readmg  of  every  workman."  \ 

The  Abbe  Barruel  claims  in  his  MemoirsX  to  detect  in 
the  writings  of  Voltaire  and  of  the  leading  Encyclopedists, 
a  conspiracy  not  only  against  the  Altar  but  also  against  the 
Throne.  He  severely  denounces  the  ''Last  Will  of  fean 
"  Meslier,  —  that  famous  Curate  of  Etrepigni,  —  whose 
"  apostacy  and  blasphemies  made  so  strong  an  impression 
"  on  the  minds  of  the  populace,  "||  and  he  styles  the  plan 
of  D' Alembert  for  circulating  a  few  thousand  copies  of 
the  Abstract  of  the  Will,  as  a  "base  project  against  the 
"  doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  "§   He  even  asserts  his  belief  that : 

"  The  Jacobins  will  one  day  declare  that  all  men  are 
"  free,  that  all  men  are  equal  ;  and  as  a  consequence  of  this 
"  Equality  and  Liberty  they  will  conclude  that  every  man 
"must  be  left  to  the  light  of  reason.  That  every  religion 
"  subjecting  man's  reason  to  mysteries,  or  to  the  authority 
"  of  any  revelation  speaking  in  God's  name,  is  a  religion 
"  of  constraint  and  slavery  ;  that  as  such  it  should  be  an- 

*  See  Letter  104,  Voltaire  to  D'Alembert.     t  Letter  146,  from  D'Alembert. 

\  See  Historv  of  yacobinism  bv  the  Abbe  Barruel,  4  vols.  8  vo,  translated  by  the 
Hon.  Robert  Clifford,  F.  R.  S..  and  printed  in  London  in  1798.  The  learned  Abb6 
defines  Jacobinism  as  "  the  error  of  every  man  who,  judging  of  all  things  by  the 
"  standard  of  his  own  reason,  rejects  in  religious  matters  every  authority  that  is 
"  not  derived  from  the  light  of  nature.  It  is  the  error  of  every  man  who  denies 
"  the  possibility  of  any  mysterv  beyond  the  limits  of  his  reason,  of  every  one  who, 
"  discarding  revelation  in  defence  of  the  pretended  rights  of  Reason^  Equality, 
"  and  Liberty,  seeks  to  subvert  the  whole  fabric  of  the  Christian  religion."    P.  4. 

I  History  of  yacobmism,  page  144.  I  Ibid,  page  145. 


PUBLISHER  S     PREFACE.  V 

"  nihilated  in  order  to  reestablish  the  indefeasible  rights  of 
"  Equality  and  Liberty  as  to  the  belief  or  disbelief  of  all 
"  that  the  reason  of  man  approves  or  disapproves:  and 
"  they  will  call  this  Equality  and  Liberty  the  reign  of 
"  Reason  and  the  empire  of  Philosophy."  * 

The  results  which  the  Abbe  Barruel  so  clearly  foresaw 
have  at  length  been  realized.  The  labors  of  the  Jacobins 
have  not  been  in  vain,  and  the  Revolution  they  incited  has 
restored  France  to  the  government  of  the  people  ! 

' '  With  ardent  hope  for  the  future, ' '  says  President  Carnot 
in  his  centennial  address,  May  5,  1889,  ' '  I  greet  in  the  palace 
"  of  the  monarchy  the  representatives  of  a  nation  that  is 
"  now  in  complete  possession  of  herself,  that  is  mistress 
"  of  her  destinies,  and  that  is  in  the  full  splendor  and 
"  strength  of  liberty.  The  first  thoughts  on  this  solemn 
"  meeting  turn  to  our  fathers.  Th?t  immortal  generation 
"  of  1789,  by  dint  of  courage  and  many  sacrifices,  secured 
"  for  us  benefits  which  we  must  bequeath  to  our  sons  as 
"  a  most  precious  inheritance.  Never  can  our  gratitude 
"  equal  the  grandeur  of  the  services  rendered  by  our 
"  fathers  to  France  and  to  the  human  race.  .  .  .  The 
"  Revolution  was  based  upon  the  rights  of  man.  It  created 
"  a  new  era  in  history  and  founded  modern  society." 

This  is  literally  true.  The  freethinkers  of  France  have 
taught  mankind  the  doctrines  of  Liberty,  Equality,  and 
Fraternity.  They  have  taught  the  dignity  of  human  reason, 
and  the  sacredness  of  human  rights.  They  have  broken 
the  bondage  of  the  altar,  and  severed  the  shackles  of  the 
throne  ;  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  at  the  centennial  cele- 
bration held  in  this  city  on  April  30th,  1889,  the  appointed 
oratorf  did  not  realize  the  grandeur  of  the  occasion,  and  did 
not,  like  Carnot,  pay  a  just  tribute  to  our  allies,  the  reformers 

*  History  of  jacobinism,  page  51. 

fSee  the  Centennial  Address  of  the  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depew. 


VI  PUBLISHER  S    PREFACE. 

of  Europe,  as  well  as  to  the  fathers  of  the  republic.  But  the 
people  of  America  will  remember  what  the  politician  has  for- 
gotten. They  will  remember  the  names  and  deeds  of  their 
foreign  benefactors  as  well  as  of  the  American  patriots  of  '76. 
When  they  recall  the  illustrious  Europeans  who  fought  for 
our  liberties  they  will  remember  the  name  of  Lafayette  ; 
when  they  think  of  the  Declaration  of  hidependence  they  will 
not  forget  the  name  of  Thomas  Jefferson  ;  and  when  they 
speak  of"  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls  "  they  will  recall 
with  gratitude  the  name  of  Thomas  Paine. 

Although  the  ecclesiastical  conclave  at  Rome  claims  the 
power  of  working  miracles  in  defiance  of  Nature's  laws,  yet 
with  or  without  miracles,  they  have  never  answered  the 
simple  arguments  advanced  by  Jean  Meslier  ;  although 
they  claim  to  hold  the  keys  of  Paradise,  and  bind  on  earth 
the  souls  that  are  to  be  bound  in  heaven,  yet  year  by  )'ear 
their  waning  power  refutes  their  senseless  boast  ;  although 
they  boldly  assert  the  dogma  of  popish  infallibility,  yet  the 
loss  of  the  temporal  power  once  wielded  by  Rome,  and  the 
death  of  each  succeeding  pontiff,  attest  both  the  Pope's 
fallibility  and  the  Pope's  mortality.  Indeed,  the  successor 
of  St.  Peter  is  but  human  —  the  sacred  college  at  Rome  is 
but  mortal  ;  and  faith  and  dogma  cannot  forever  resist  the 
influence  of  light  and  knowledge.  The  power  of  Catholi- 
cism is  surely  declining  throughout  Europe  ;  and  if  it  has 
become  aggressive  in  our  American  cities,  is  it  not  because 
the  friends  of  freedom  have  forgotten  the  well-known  axiom 
that  ' '  eternal  vigilance  is  the  price  of  liberty  ' '  ? 

Peter  Eckler. 
New  York,  May  21,  i88p. 


PREFATORY  NOTE  BY  THE  TRANSLATOR 


Some  years  ago  a  copy  of  John  Meslier  fell 
into  my  hands.  I  was  struck  with  the  simple 
truthfulness  of  his  arguments,  and  the  thought 
never  left  me  of  the  happy  change  that  would 
be  produced  all  over  the  world  when  the  re- 
ligious prejudices  should  be  dispelled,  and 
when  all  the  different  nations  and  sects  would 
unite  and  lend  each  other  a  friendly  hand. 

Since  I  had  the  opportunity  of  hearing  the 
speeches  and  lectures  of  liberal  men,  it  has 
seemed  to  me  that  the  time  has  come  for  this 
work  of  John  Meslier  to  be  appreciated,  and 
I  concluded  to  translate  it  into  the  language 
of  my  adopted  country,  presuming  that  many 
would  be  happy  to  study  it. 

In  this  faith  I  offer  it  now  to  the  public,  and 

I  hope  that  the  name  of  John  Meslier  will  be 

honored  as  one  of  the  greatest  benefactors  ot 

humanity. 

Anna  Knoop, 


CONTENTS 


Pagi 

Preface  of  the  Editor  of  the  French  Edition  17 

Correspondence        .....                  .         .  19 

Life  of  John  Meslier,  by  Voltaire 37 

Inscription  on  the  Envelope  containing  the  last  Will  of 

John  Meslier        . 29 

The  declaration  of  this  Curate  to  his  Parishioners  .         .  30 

Comparison  between  Meslier  and  Woolston  ...  32 
Decree  of  the  National  Convention  upon  the  proposition 

to  erect  a  Statue  to  the  Curate  John  Meslier  .  .  34 
Common  Sense,  by  the  Curate  Meslier.     Preface  of  the 

Author 35 

Ckaptkr 

I. — Common  Sense.     Apologue         ....  45 

II. — What  is  Theology  ? 47 

III. — Continuation         .......  47 

IV. — Man  born  neither  Religious  nor  Deistical     .         .  48 
V, — It  is  not  necessary  to  believe  in  a  God,  and  the 

most  reasonable  thing  is  not  to  think  of  Him  .  48 

VI. — Religion  is  founded  upon  Credulity      ...  49 

VII. — Every  Religion  is  an  Absurdity    ....  49 

VIII. — The  notion  of  God  is  impossible  .         ...  50 

IX. — Origin  af  Superstition  ......  50 

X. — Origin  of  all  Religion 51 

XI. — In  the  name  of  Religion  Charlatans  take  advan- 
tage of  the  weakness  of  men   .         .         .         -51 
XII. — Religion  entices  Ignorance  by  the  aid  of  the  Mar- 
velous         51 

XIII. — Continuation 52 

XIV. — There  never  would  have  been  any  Religion 
if  there  had  never  been  any  dark  and  bar- 
barous ages 53 

XV. — All  Religion  was  born  of  the  desire  to  dominate  53 


6  Contents. 

CuAms  Paos 
XVI. — That  which  serves  as  a  basis  for  all  Relig- 
ion is  very  uncertain        •        •        •        •       53 
XVII. — It  is  impossible  to  be  convinced  of  the  Ex- 
istence of  God 53 

XVIII. — Continuation 54 

XIX. — The  Existence  of  God  is  not  proved   .         .       54 
XX. — To  say  that  God  is  a  Spirit,  is  to  speak 

without  saying  anything  at  all         .         ,       55 
XXI. — Spirituality  is  a  Chimera      .         .         .         -55 
XXII. — All  which  exists  springs  from  the  bosom  of 

Matter 56 

XXIII. — What  is  the  Metaphysical  God  of  Modem 

Theology  ? 56 

XXIV. — It  would  be  more  Rational  to  worship  the 

Sun  than  a  Spiritual  God         ...       57 
XXV. — A  Spiritual  God  is  incapable  of  willing  and 

of  acting 57 

XXVI.— What  is  God  ? 58 

XXVII. — Remarkable  contradictions  of  Theology     .       58 
XXVIII. — To  adore  God  is  to  adore  a  Fiction     .         .       58 
XXIX. — The  Infinity  of  God,  and  the  impossibility 
of  knowing  the  Divine   Essence,  occa- 
sions and  justifies  Atheism      •         •         •       59 
XXX. — It  is  neither  less  nor  more  criminal  to  be- 
lieve in  God,  than  not  to  believe  in  Him .       60 
XXXI. — The  belief  in  God  is  nothing  but  a  mechan- 
ical habitude  of  Childhood      ...       61 
XXXII. — It  ie  a  prejudice  which  has  been  handed 

down  from  Fathers  to  Children       .         .       62 

XXXIII.— Origin  of  Prejudices 63 

XXXIV. — How  they  take  root  and  spread   ...       63 
XXXV. — Men  would  never  have  believed  in  the  re- 
ligious principles  of  Modem  Theology, 
if  they  had  not  been  taught  at  an  age 
when  they  were  incapable  of  reasoning  .       63 
XXXVI. — The  wonders  of  Nature  do  not  prove  the 

Existence  of  God 63 

XXXVII. — The  wonders  of  Nature  explain  themselves 

by  natural  causes     .....       64 

XXXVIII.— Continuation 65 

XXXIX.— The  Worid  has  not  been  created,  and  Mat- 
ter moves  by  itself 66 

XL. — Continuation 66 

XLl. — Other  proofs  that  Motion  is  in  the  essence 
of  Matter,  and  that  it  is  not  necessary 
to  suppose  a  Spiritual  Motor  ...      67 


Contents.  J 

Chaptbb  Pac« 

XLII. — The  existence  of  Man  does  not  prove  that 

of  God 69 

XLII  I. — However,  neither  Man  nor  the  Universe  is 

the  effect  of  Chance         ....       70 
XLIV. — Neither  does    the  order   of  the   Universe 

prove  the  Existence  of  a  God ...      72 

XLV. — Continuation 73 

XLVI. — A  pure  Spirit  can  not  be  intelligent,  and  to 

adore  a  Divine  Intelligence  is  a  Chimera       74 
XLVII. — All  the  qualities  which  Theology  gives  to 
its  God,  are  contrary  to  the  veiy  essence 
which  it  supposes  Him  to  have       .        .      75 

XLVII  I. — Continuation 76 

XLIX. — It  is  absurd  to  say  that  the  Human  Race 

is  the  object  and  the  end  of  Creation      .       76 
L. — God  is  not  made  for  Man,  nor  Man  for  God       "Ji 
LI. — It  is  not  true  that  the  object  of  the  forma- 
tion of  the  Universe  was  to  render  men 

happy "]% 

LII. — What  is  called    Providence  is  but  a  word 

void  of  sense 78 

LI II. — This  pretended  Providence  is  less  occupied 
in  conserving  than  in  disturbing  the 
World — more  an  Enemy  than  a  Friend 

of  Man 80 

LIV. — No  !  the  World  is  not  governed  by  an  In- 
telligent Being 82 

LV. — God  can  not  be  called  Immutable  .  .  83 
LVI. — Evil  and  Good  are  the  necessary  efiects  of 
natural  causes.  Wiiat  is  a  God  who  can 
change  nothing  ?  .  .  .  .  -83 
LVII. — The  vanity  of  Theological  consolations  in 
the  troubles  of  this  life.  The  hope  of  a 
Heaven,  of  a  Future  Life,  is  but  imagi- 
nary          84 

LVIII.— Another  idle  fancy 86 

LIX. — In  vain  does  Theology  exert  itself  to  acquit 
God  of  Man's  defects.  Either  this  God 
is  not  free,  or  He  is  more  wicked  than 

good 87 

LX. — We  can  not  believe  in  a  Divine  Providence, 

in  an  Infinitely  Good  and  Powerful  God        88 

LXI. — Continuation 90 

LXII. — Theology  makes  of  its  God  a  Monster  of 
nonsense,  of  injustice,  of  malice,  and 
atrocity  ;  a  Being  absolutely  hateful  !      .       91 


8  Contents. 

Chaitkr  Paoi 

LXIII. — Ail   Religion   inspires  but  a  cowardly  and 

inordinate  fear  of  the  Divinity  .         .       92 

LXIV. — Tliere  is    in  reality  no  difference  between 
Religion  and  the  most  somber  and  ser- 
vile Superstition       •         •         •         •         •       93 

LXV. — According  to  the    ideas   which    Theology 
gives  of  Divinity,  to  love  God  is  impos- 
sible        .......       93 

LXVI. — By  the  inveri'^on  of  the  Dogma  of  the  eter- 
nal torments  of  Hell,  Theologians  have 
made  of  their  God  a  Detestable  Being, 
more  wicked  than  the  most  wicked  of 
Men,  a  perverse  and  cruel  Tyrant  with- 
out aim 94 

LXVII. — Theology  is  but  a  series  of  palpable  con- 
tradictions       ......       96 

LXVI  1 1. — The  pretended  works  of  God  do  not  prove  at 

all  what  we  call  Divine  Perfection  .         .       97 
LXIX. — The  Perfection  of  God  does  not  show  to 
any  more   advantage   in    the    pretended 
creation  of  Angels  and  pure  Spirits         .       98 
LXX. — Theology  preaches  the  Omnipotence  of  its 
God,  and  continually  shows  Him  Impo- 
tent .......       98 

LXXI. — According  to  all  the  Religious  Systems  of 
the  earth,  God  would  be  the  most  Ca- 
pricious and  the  most  Insensate  of  Beings       99 
LXXII. — It  is  absurd  to  say  that  Evil  does  not  come 

from  God 100 

LXXI II. — The  foresight  which    is  attributed  to  God 
would  give  the  right  to  guilty  Men,  whom 
He  punishes,  to  complain  of  His  cruelty      100 
LXXIV. — Absurdity  of  the  Theological  Fables  upon 

Original  Sin  and  upon  Satan   .         .         .     loi 
LXXV. — The  Devil,  like   Religion,  was   invented  to 

enrich  the  Priests    .....     102 
LXXVI. — If  God  could   not  render   Human  Nature 

sinless.  He  has  no  right  to  punish  Men  .     103 
LXXVn. — It  is  absurd  to  say  that  God's  conduct  must 
be  a  mystery  to  Man,  and  that  he  has  no 
right  to  examine  and  judge  it  .         .     105 

LXXVIII. — It  is  absurd  to  call  Him  a  God  of  justice 
and  of  goodness,  who  inflicts  evil  indis- 
criminately on  the  good  and  the  wicked, 
upon  the  innocent  and  the  guilty  ;  it  is 
idle    to  demand    that   the    unfortunate 


Contents.  9 

Cmattbr  P*gb 

should  console  themselves  for  their  mis- 
fortunes in  the  very  arms  of  the  One  who 
alone  is  the  Author  of  them    .         .         .     107 
LXXIX. — A  God  who  punishes  the  faults  which  He 
could  have  prevented  is  a  Fool,  who  adds 
injustice  to  foolishness     ....     108 
LXXX.— Free-will  is  an  idle  fancy  .         .         .         .110 
LXXXI. — We  should  not  conclude  from  this  that  So- 
ciety has  not  the  right  to  chastise  the 

wicked .114 

LXXXII. — Refutation  of  the  arguments  in  favor  of 

Free-will        .        .         .        .        .        .114 

LXXXIII.— Continuation 115 

\.XXXIV.— God  Himself,  if  there  was  a  God,  would 
not  be  free  ;  hence  the  uselessness  of  all 

Religion 116 

LXXXV. — Even  according  to  Theological  principles, 

Man  is  not  free  one  instant    .         .         .      '  '7 
LXXXVI. — All  evil,  all  disorder,  all  sin,  can  be  at- 
tributed but  to  God,  and,  consequently. 
He  has  no  right  to  punish  or  reward     .     117 
LXXXVn. — Men's  prayers  to  God  prove   sufficiently 
that  they  are  not  satisfied  with  the  Di- 
vine Economy        .         .         .         .         .118 

LXXXVni. — The  reparation  of  the  iniquities  and  the 
miseries  of  this  world  in  another  world, 
is   an   idle  conjecture   and    an    absurd 
supposition    .         .         .         .         .         .120 

LXXXIX.— Theology  justifies  the  evil  and  injustice  per- 
mitted by  its  God,  only  by  conceding  to 
this  God  the  right  of  the  strongest,  that 
is  to  say,  the  violation  of  all  rights,  or  in 
commanding  from  men  a  stupid  devotion     1 20 
XC. — Redemption  and  the  continual  extermina- 
tions attributed  to  Jehovah  in  the  Bible, 
are  so  many  absurd  and  ridiculous  in- 
ventions, which    presuppose   an  unjust 
and  barbarous  God        .         .         .         .123 

XCI. — How  can  we  discover  a  tender,  generous, 
and  equitable  Father,  in  a  Being  who 
has  created   His  children   but  to  make 

them  unhappy  ? 124 

XCII. — The  life  of  mortals,  all  which  takes  place 
here  below,  is  against  Man's  liberty  and 
against  the  justice  and  goodness  of  a 
pretended  G":!       ,         ,         .         .•  124 


10  Contents. 

Chaftek  Paoi 

XCIII. — It  is  not  true  that  we  owe  any  gratitude  to 

what  we  call  Providence  .         .         .         .126 
XCIV.— To  pretend  that  Man  is  the  beloved  Child  of 
Providence,  God's  favorite,  the  only  object 
of  His  labors,  the  king  of  Nature,  is  folly    .   127 
XCV. — Comparison  between  Man  and  Animals  .     129 

XCVI. — There  are  no  more  detestable  Animals  in  this 

world  than  Tyrants 130 

XCVII. — Refutation  of  Man's  excellence     .        .         .       131 

XCVIII. — An  Oriental  Legend 132 

XCIX. — It  is  foolish  to  see  in  the  Universe  but  the 
benefactions  of  Heaven,  and  to  believe  that 
this  Universe  was  made  but  for  Man  ,  .134 
C. — What  is  the  Soul  ?  We  know  nothing  about 
it.  If  this  pretended  Soul  was  of  a  differ- 
ent substance  from  that  of  the  Body,  their 
union  would  be  impossible  .         .         .136 

CI. — The  existence  of  a  Soul  is  an  absurd  supposi- 
tion, and  the  existence  of  an  Immortal  Soul 
is  a  still  more  absurd  supposition         .         .138 
CII, — It  is  evident  that  the  whole  of  Man  dies         .     139 
GUI. — Incontestable  proofs  against  the  spirituality 

of  the  Soul 140 

CIV. — The  absurdity  of  Supernatural  causes  which 

Theologians  constantly  call  to  their  aid       .     141 
CV. — It  is  false  that  Materialism  can  be  debasing 

to  the  Human  Race 142 

CVI. — Continuation   .......     142 

CVII. — The  dogma  of  Another  Life  is  useful  but  for 
those  who  profit  by  it  at  the  expense  of 

the  credulous  public 143 

CVIII. — It  is  false  that  the  dogma  of  Another  Life 
can  be  consoling ;  and  even  if  it  were,  it 
would  be  no  proof  that  this   assertion   is 

true 144 

CIX. — All  Religious  principles  are  imaginary.     In- 
nate sense   is  but  the  effect  of  a  rooted 
habit.     God  is  an  idle  fancy,  and  the  quali- 
ties which  are  lavished  upon  Him  destroy 
each  other  ...  ...     147 

ex. — Every  Religion  is  but  a  system  invented   for 
the  purpose  of  reconciling  contradictions 
by  the  aid  of  Mysteries       ....     149 

CXI. — Absurdity  and  inutility  of  the  Mysteries  forged 

in  the  sole  interest  of  the  Priests        .        .150 
CXII. — Continuation I5« 


Contents.  1 1 

CHAtTsa  Paoi 

CXIII. — Continuation 152 

CXIV. — A  Universal  God  should   have  levealed   a 

Universal  Religion 153 

CXV. — The  proof  that  Religion  is  not  necessary,  is 

that  it  is  unintelligible  .         .         .         .         154 
CXVI. — All  Religions  are  ridiculed  by  those  of  op- 
posite, though  equally  insane,  belief.         .     155 
CXVII.— Opinion  of  a  celebrated  Theologian     .         .156 
CXVllI. — The  Deist's  God  is  no  less  contradictory,  no 

less  fanciful  than  the  Theologian's  God    .     157 
CXIX, — We  do  not  prove  at  all  the  existence  of  a 
God,  by  saying  that  in  all  ages  every  na- 
tion has  acknowledged  some  kind  of  Di- 
vinity          158 

CXX. — All  the  Gods  are  of  a  barbarous  origin  ;  all 
Religions  are  antique  monuments  of  igno- 
rance, superstition,  and  ferocity ;  and  Mod- 
em Relisfions  are  but  ancient  follies  re- 

vived 1 60 

CXXI. — All  Religious  ceremonies  bear  the  seal  of 

stupidity  or  barbarity         ....     161 
CXXII, — The  more  ancient  and  general  a  Religious 
opinion  is,  the  greater  the  reason  for  sus- 
pecting it 163 

CXXIII. — Skepticism  in  the  matter  of  Religion  can  be 
the  effect  of  but  a  superficial  examination 
of  Theological  principles  ....     164 

CXXIV. — Revelation  refuted 167 

CXXV. — Where,  then,  is  the  proof  that  God  did  ever 

show  Himself  to  Men  or  spoke  to  them  ?      168 
CXXVI. — Nothing  establishes  the  truth  of  Miracles    .     169 
CXXVII. — If  God  had  spoken,  it  would  be  strange  that 
He  had  spoken  differently  to  all  the  adher- 
ents of  the  different  sects,  who  damn  each 
other,  who  accuse  each  other,  with  reason, 
of  superstition  and  impiety        .         .         .170 
CXXVIII. — Obscure  and  suspicious  origin  of  Oracles     .     172 
CXXIX. — Absurdity  of  pretended  Miracles         .        .172 
CXXX. — Refutation  of  Pascal's  manner  of  Reason- 
ing as  to  how  we  should  judge  Miracles  .     174 
CXXXI. — Even  according  to  the  principles  of  The- 
ology itself  every  new  revelation  should 
be  refuted  as  false  and  impious.        .        .175 
CXXXII.— Even   the   blood   of    the    Martyrs  testifies 
against  the  truth  of  Miracles,  and  against 
the  Divine  origin  which  Christianity  claims     I  j6 


1 2  Contents. 

CXXXIII.— The  fanaticism  of  the  Martyrs,  the  inter- 
ested zeal  of  Missionaries,  prove  in  no- 
wise the  truth  of  Reli^on      .         .         .177 
CXXXIV. — Theolog}'  makes  of  its  God  an  enemy  of 

common  sense  and  of  enlightenment    .     179 
CXXXV. — Faith  is  irreconcilable  with  Reason,  and 

Reason  is  preferable  to  Faith         .         .179 
CXXXVI. — How  absurd  and  ridiculous  is  the  sophis- 
try of    those   who  wish    to    substitute 

Faith  for  Reason 181 

CXXXVII. — How  pretend  that  Man  ought  to  believe 
verbal  testimony  on  what  is  claimed  to 
be  the  most  important  thing  for  him  ?  .     183 
CXXXVni. — Faith  takes  root  but  in  weak,  ignorant,  or 

indolent  minds 184 

CXXXIX. — To  teach  that  there  exists  one  true  Re- 
ligion  is  an  absurdity,  and  a  cause  of 
much  trouble  among  the  nations  .         .185 
CXL. — Religion  is  not  necessary  to  Morality  and 

to  Virtue 188 

CXLI. — Religion  is  the  weakest  restraint  that  can 

be  opposed  to  the  passions    .         .         .     190 
CXLIL— Honor  is  a  more  salutary-  and  a  stronger 

check  than  Religion       ....     I90 
CXLIII. — Religion  is  certainly  not  a  powerful  check 
upon  the  passions  of  Kings,  who  are 
nearly  always  cruel  and  fantastic  tyrants 
by  the  example  of  this  same  God,  of 
whom  they  claim  to  be  the  representa- 
tives ;  they  use  Religion  but  to  brutal- 
ize their  slaves   so  much  the  more,  to 
lull  them  to  sleep  in  their  fetters,  and  to 
prey  upon  them  with  the  greater  facility     191 
CXLIV. — Origin    of    the   most    absurd,   the    most 
ridiculous,  and  the  most  odious  usurpa- 
tion called  the  Divine  Right  of  Kings. 
Wise  counsels  to  Kings         .         .         •     '93 
CXLV. — Religion  is  fatal  to  Politics  ;  it  forms  but 
licentious  and  perverse  despots,  as  well 
as  abject  and  unhappy  subjects      .         .     195 
CXLVI. — Christianity  extended  itself  but  by  encour- 
aging despotism,  of  which   it,  like  all 
Religion,  is  the  strongest  support .         .196 
CXLVn. — The  only  aim  of  Religious  principles  is  to 
perpetuate  the  tyranny  of  Kings,  and 
to  sacrifice  the  nations  to  them      .         .      ^98 


Contents.  1 3 

CKArm  Pag« 

CXLVIII. — How  fatal  it  is  to  persuade  Kings  that 
they  have  only  God  to  fear  if  they  in- 
jure the  people 200 

CXLIX. — A   Religious    King   is   a   scourge   to   his 

kingdom 201 

CL. — The  shield  of  Religion  is  for  tyranny  a 
weak  rampart  against  the  despair  of  the 
People.  A  despot  is  a  madman  who 
injures  himself  and  sleeps  upon  the  edge 

of  a  precipice 203 

CLI. — Religion  favors  the  errors  of  Princes  by 

delivering  them  from  fear  and  remorse      204 
CLII. — What  is  an  Enlightened  Sovereign  ?  .     205 

CLI II. — The  dominant  passions  and  crimes  of 
Priestcraft.  With  the  assistance  of  its 
pretended  God  and  of  Religion,  it  as- 
serts   its    passions    and    commits    its 

crimes 206 

CLIV. — Charlatanry  of  the  Priests         .         ,         .     207 
CLV. — Countless  calamities  are  produced  by  Re- 
ligion, which  has  tainted  Morality  and 
disturbed  all  just  ideas  and  all  sound 
doctrines         ......     208 

CLVI. — Every  Religion  is  intolerant,  and,  conse- 
quently, destructive  of  beneficence         .     211 
CLVII.— Abuse  of  a  State  Religion         .         .         .212 
CLVIII. — Religion   gives   license  to  the  ferocity  of 
the   People  by  legitimizing  it,  and  au- 
thorizes crime  by  teaching  that  it  can 
be  useful  to  the  designs  of  God      .         .     213 
CLIX. — Refutation  of  the  argument  that  the  evils 
attributed  to  Religion  are  but  the  sad 
effects  of  the  passions  of  men        .         .214 
CLX. — All    morality  is    incompatible   with    Re- 
ligious opinions      .....     215 

CLXI. — The  morals  of  the  Gospel  are  impraticable     217 
CLXII. — A  society  of  Saints  would  be  impossible  .     218 
CLXIII. — Human   Nature  is  not  depraved  ;   and  a 
morality  which  contradicts  this  fact  is 

not  made  for  Men 220 

CLXIV.— Of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Priests'  God      .         .     222 
CLXV. — The  dogma  of  the  Remission  of  Sins  has 
been   invented    in   the   interest   of   the 

Priests 223 

CLXVI. — The  fear  of  God  is  powerless  against  hu- 
man passions 224 


14  Contents. 

CLXVII. — The  invention  of  Hell  is  too  absurd   to 

prevent  evil 325 

CLXVIII.— Absurdity  of  the  morality  and  of  the  Re- 
ligious virtues  established  solely  in  the 
interest  of  the  Priests  ....  227 
CLXIX. — What  does  that  Christian  charity  amount 
to,  such  as  Theologians  teach  and  prac- 
tice ?       228 

CLXX. — Confession,  the  golden  mine  for  the  Priests, 
has  destroyed  the  true  principles  of  mo- 
rality        232 

CLXXI. — The  supposition  of  the  existence  of  a  God 

is  not  necessary  to  morality   .         .         .     234 
CLXXII. — Religion  and  its  supernatural  morality  are 
fatal  to  the  people  and  opposed  to  Man's 

nature 235 

CLXXIII. — How  the  union  of  Religion  and  Politics  is 

fatal  to  the  People  and  to  the  Kings      .     236 
CLXXIV. — Creeds   are  burdensome  and   ruinous  to 

the  majority  of  nations  ....     238 
CLXXV. — Religion  paralyzes  morality       .         .         .     239 
CLXXVI. — Fatal  consequences  of  piety       .         .         .     240 
CLXXVn.— The  supposition  of  Another  Life  is  neither 
consoling  to  Man  nor  necessary  to  mo- 
rality       241 

CLXXVIII. — An  Atheist  has  more  motives  for  acting 
uprightly,  more  conscience  than  a  Re- 
ligious Person 242 

CLXXIX. — An  Atheist  King  would  be  preferable  to 
one  who  is  Religious  and  wicked,  as  we 

often  see  them 244 

CLXXX.— The   morality  acquired   by  Philosophy  is 

sufficient  to  Virtue          ....     245 
CLXXXI. — Opinions  rarely  influence  conduct      .         .     246 
CLXXXII. — Reason   leads    Men   to  irreligion  and  to 
Atheism  because    Religion    is   absurd, 
and  the  God  of  the  Priests  is  a  mali- 
cious and  ferocious  Being      .         .         .     248 
CLXXXI  1 1.— Fear  alone  creates  Theists  and  Devotees  .     249 
CLXXXI  V. — Can  we,  or  should  we,  love  or  not  love  God  ?     25c 
CLXXXV.— The  various  and  contradictory  ideas  which 
exist  everywhere  upon  God  and  Relig- 
ion, prove  that  they  are  but  idle  fancies      251 
CLXXXVL— The  existence  of  God,  which  is  the  basis 
of  all  Religion,  has  not  yet  been  dem- 
onstrated         253 


Contents,  15 

CHAFTBIt  PaGB 

CLXXXVII. — Priests,  more  than  Unbelievers,  act  from 

interest 253 

CLXXXVIII. — Pride,  presumption,  and  corruption  of 
the  heart  are  more  often  found  among 
Priests  than  among  Atheists  and  Un- 
believers        254 

CLXXXIX. — Prejudices  are  but  for  a  time,  and  no 
power  is  durable  except  it  be  based 
upon  Truth,  Reason,  and  Equity  .  257 
CXC. — How  much  power  and  consideration  the 
Ministers  of  the  Gods  would  have,  if 
they  became  the  Apostles  of  Reason 
and  the  Defenders  of  Liberty  .  .  258 
CXCI. — What  a  happy  and  great  revolution 
would  take  place  in  the  Universe  if 
Philosophy  was  substituted  for  Relig- 
ion         259 

CXCII. — The  retraction  of  an  unbeliever  at  the 
hour  of  death,  proves  nothing  against 

incredulity 261 

CXCIII. — It  is  not  true  that  Atheism  sunders  all 

the  ties  of  Society        ....     263 
CXCIV. — Refutation  of  the  assertion  that  Relig- 
ion is  necessary  for  the  masses    .         .     263 
CXCV. — Every  rational  system  is  not  made  for  the 

multitude 265 

CXCVI. — Futility  and  danger  of  Theology.     Wise 

counsels  to  Princes       ....     267 
CXCVII. — Fatal  effects  of  Religion  upon  the  Peo- 
ple and  the  Princes      ....     268 

CXCVIII. — Continuation 270 

CXCIX. — History  teaches  us   that   all   Religions 
were  established  by  the  aid  of  igno- 
rance, and  by  Men  who  had   the  ef- 
frontery to  style  themselves  the  envoys 
of  Divinity  .         .         .         .         .         .271 

CC. — All  Ancient  and  Modern  Religions  have 
mutually  borrowed  their  abstract  rev- 
eries and  their  ridiculous  practices       .     273 
CCI. — Theology  has  always  turned  Philosophy 

from  its  true  course     ....     274 

CCn. — Theology  neither  explains  nor  enlightent 

anything  in  the  World  or  in  Nature     .     275 
CCni. — How  Theology  has  fettered  human  mor- 
als and  retarded  the  progress  of  en- 
lightenment, of  reason,  and  of  truth  .     277 


iC  Contciits. 

Chapter  x^agb 

CCIV.— Continuation 279 

CCV.— We  could  not  repeat  too  often  how  extravagant 

and  fatal  Religion  is 280 

CCVI. — Religion  is  Pandora's  Box,  and  this  fatal  Box  is 

open 281 

ABSTRACT   OF   TESTAMENT   OF   JOHN 
MESLIER,  BY  VOLTAIRE. 

I.— Of  Religions 283 

II.— Of  Miracles 305 

III. — Similarity  between  Ancient  and  Modem  Mira- 
cles           310 

IV.— Of  the  Falsity  of  the  Christian  Religion     .         .  316 
v.— The  Holy  Scriptures— (i)    Of   the  Old  Testa- 
ment         323 

VI.— (2)  The  New  Testament 324 

VTI.— Errors  of  Doctrine  and  of  Morality   .        .        -330 


PREFACE    OF    THE    EDITOR 

OF  THE   FRENCH   EDITION   OF    1830. 


It  is  said  that  truth  is  generally  revealed  by 
dying  lips.  When  men  full  of  health  and  enjoying 
all  the  pleasures  of  life,  exert  themselves  without 
ceasing,  to  excite  minds  and  to  take  advantage  of 
their  fanaticism  by  wearing  the  mask  of  religion,  it 
will  not  be  without  interest  or  importance  to  know 
what  other  men,  invested  with  the  same  ministry, 
have  taught  under  the  impulse  of  a  conscience 
quickened  by  the  approach  of  the  final  hour.  Their 
confessions  are  more  valuable  because  they  carry 
with  them  the  spirit  of  contrition.  It  is  then  that 
the  truth,  which  is  no  longer  obscured  by  narrow 
passions  and  sordid  interests,  presents  itself  in  all 
its  brilliancy,  and  imposes  upon  him  who  has  kept 
it  hidden  during  his  life,  the  duty,  and  even  the 
necessity,  of  unveiling  it  fully  at  his  death.  It  is 
then  that  human  speech,  losing  in  a  measure  its 
terrestrial  nature,  becomes  persuasive  and  con- 
vincing. 

We  know  this  fact  of  a  celebrated  preacher  who 
in  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution  stood  in  the 


1 8  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

same  pulpit  which  we  are  pleased  to  call  the  pulpit 
of  truth,  and  with  his  hand  upon  his  heart  declared 
that  till  then  he  had  taught  only  fab*^hood.  He 
did  more ;  he  implored  his  parishioners  to  forgive 
him  for  the  gross  errors  in  which  he  had  kept  them, 
and  congratulated  them  upon  having  at  last  arrived 
at  a  period  when  it  was  permitted  to  establish  the 
empire  of  reason  upon  the  ruins  of  prejudice. 
Times  have  changed  very  much,  it  is  true  ;  however, 
so  long  as  the  press  shall  be  able  to  combat  the 
fatal  errors  of  religious  fanaticism,  and  perhaps  even 
to  some  extent  prevent  its  violence,  it  will  be  the 
duty  of  every  friend  of  humanity  to  reproduce  con- 
tinually the  full  retractions  which  opposed  the  sin- 
cerity and  conscience  of  the  dying  to  the  bad  faith 
and  hypocritical  avidity  of  the  living.  Guided  by 
this  intention,  and  ashamed  to  see  the  human  race, 
in  a  land  just  freed  from  the  yoke  of  prejudice, 
give  birth  to  a  disgraceful  juggling  which  will  ter- 
minate in  dominating  authority,  and  associate  itself 
with  the  persecutions  of  which  our  incredulous  or 
dissenting  ancestors  were  the  sad  victims,  we  be- 
lieve it  useful  to  reprint  the  last  lessons  of  a  priest — 
an  honest  man — bequeathed  to  his  fellow-citizens 
and  to  posterity.  The  service  we  render  to  Philos- 
ophy will  be  so  much  the  greater  when  we  can 
consider  as  immutable,  perpetual,  permanent,  and 
ready  to  appear  in  the  hour  of  need,  the  edition 


Correspondence .  1 9 

which  we  are  preparing  of  "  COMMON  SENSE,  BY 
THE  Priest  Jean  Meslier,  and  his  Dying 
Confession." 

To  do  justice  to  these  two  works,  to  which  we 
have  added  analytical  notes,  which  will  greatly 
facilitate  our  researches,  we  will  limit  ourselves  by 
giving  the  imposing  approbation  of  two  philoso- 
phers of  the  eighteenth  century  —  Voltaire  and 
d'Alembert.  They  certainly  understood  much  bet- 
ter the  sublimity  of  evangelical  morality,  and  spoke 
of  it  in  a  manner  more  worthy  of  its  author,  than 
did  those  who  deified  it  to  profit  by  its  divinity, 
and  who  abused  so  cruelly  the  ignorance  and  bar- 
barity of  the  first  centuries,  to  establish,  in  the 
interest  of  their  fortunes  and  power,  so  many 
base  prejudices,  so  many  puerile  and  superstitious 
practices. 

Here  is  what  Voltaire  and  d'Alembert  thought 
of  the  curate  Meslier  and  of  his  work.  Their  letters 
are  presented  here  in  order  to  excite  curiosity  and 
convince  the  judgment : 

VOLTAIRE   TO   D'ALEMBERT. 

Ferney,  February,  1762. 

They  have  printed  in  Holland  the  Testament  of 

Jean  Meslier.     I  trembled  with  horror  in  reading 

it.     The  testimony  of  a  priest,  who,  in  dying,  asks 

God's  pardon  for  having  taught  Christianity,  must 


20  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

be  a  great  weight  in  the  balance  of  Liberals.  1 
will  send  you  a  copy  of  this  Testament  of  the  anti- 
Christ,  because  you  desire  to  refute  it.  You  have 
but  to  tell  me  by  what  manner  it  will  reach  you. 
It  is  written  with  great  simplicity,  which  unfortu- 
nately resembles  candor. 

VOLTAIRE   TO   THE   SAME. 

Ferney,  February  25,  1762. 
Meslier  also  has  the  wisdom  of  the  serpent.  He 
sets  an  example  for  you  ;  the  good  grain  was  hid- 
den in  the  chaff  of  his  book.  A  good  Swiss  has 
made  a  faithful  abstract  and  this  abstract  can  do  a 
great  deal  of  good.  What  an  answer  to  the  inso- 
lent fanatics  who  treat  philosophers  like  libertines. 
What  an  answer  to  you,  wretches  that  you  are,  this 
testimony  of  a  priest,  who  asks  God's  pardon  for 
having  been  a  Christian  ! 

d'alembert's  answer. 

Paris,  March  31,  1762. 
A  misunderstanding  has  been  the  cause,  my  dear 
philosopher,  that  I  received  but  a  few  days  since 
the  work  of  Jean  Meslier,  which  you  had  sent  al- 
most a  month  ago.  I  waited  till  I  received  it  to 
write  to  you.  It  seems  to  me  that  we  could  in- 
scribe upon  the  tombstone  of  this  curate  :  "  Here 
lies   a  very  honest   priest,   curate   of  a  village    in 


Correspondence.  21 

Champagne,  who,  in  dying,  asks  God's  pardon  for 
Having  been  a  Christian,  and  who  has  proved  by 
this,  that  ninety-nine  sheep  and  one  native  of 
Champagne  do  not  make  a  hundred  beasts."  I 
suspect  that  the  abstract  of  his  work  is  written  by  a 
Swiss,  who  understands  French  very  well,  though 
he  affects  to  speak  it  badly.  This  is  neat,  earnest, 
and  concise,  and  I  bless  the  author  of  the  abstract, 
whoever  he  may  be.  "  It  is  of  the  Lord  to  cul- 
tivate the  vine."  After  all,  my  dear  philosopher,  a 
little  longer,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  all  these 
books  will  be  necessary,  and  whether  man  will  not 
have  enough  sense  to  comprehend  by  himself  that 
three  do  not  make  one,  and  that  bread  is  not  God. 
The  enemies  of  reason  are  playing  a  very  foolish 
part  at  this  moment,  and  I  believe  that  we  can  say 
as  in  the  song  : 

"  To  destroy  all  these  people 
You  should  let  them  alone." 

I  do  not  know  what  will  become  of  the  religion 
of  Christ,  but  its  professors  are  in  false  garb.  What 
Pascal,  Nicole,  and  Arnaud  could  not  do,  there  is 
an  appearance  that  three  or  four  absurd  and  igno- 
rant fanatics  will  accomplish.  The  nation  will  give 
this  vigorous  blow  within,  while  she  is  doing  so  little 
outside,  and  we  will  put  in  the  abbreviated  chrono- 
logical pages  of  the  year  1762  :    "  This  year  France 


22  Common  SensCy  by  Jean  Meslier. 

lost  all  its  colonies  and  expelled  the  Jesuits."  I 
know  nothing  but  powder,  which  with  so  little  ap- 
parent force,  could  produce  such  great  results. 

VOLTAIRE   TO   D'ALEMBERT. 

DeliCES,  Jtdy  12,  1762. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  Testament  of  Jean 
Meslier  has  a  great  effect ;  all  those  who  read  it  are 
convinced ;  this  man  discusses  and  proves.  He 
speaks  in  the  moment  of  death,  at  the  moment 
when  even  liars  tell  the  truth  fully.  This  is  the 
strongest  of  all  arguments.  Jean  Meslier  is  to  con- 
vert the  world.  Why  is  his  gospel  in  so  few  hands  ? 
How  lukewarm  you  are  at  Paris  !  You  hide  your 
tight  under  a  bushel ! 

d'alembert's  answer. 

Paris,  July  31,  1763. 
You  reproach  us  with  lukewarmness,  but  I  be- 
lieve I  have  told  you  already  that  the  fear  of  the 
fagot  is  very  cooling.  You  would  like  us  to  print 
the  Testament  of  Jean  Meslier  and  distribute  four 
or  five  thousand  copies.  The  infamous  fanaticism, 
for  infamous  it  is,  would  lose  little  or  nothing,  and 
we  should  be  treated  as  fools  by  those  whom  we 
would  have  converted.  Man  is  so  little  enlight- 
ened to-day  only  because  we  had  the  precaution  or 
the  good  fortune  to  enlighten  him  little  by  little. 


Correspondence.  23 

If  the  sun  should  appear  all  of  a  sudden  in  a  cave, 
the  inhabitants  would  perceive  only  the  harm  it 
would  do  their  eyes.  The  excess  of  light  would 
result  only  in  blinding  them. 

D'ALEMBERT    to   VOLTAIRE. 

Paris,  July  9,  1764. 
Apropos,  they  have  lent  me  that  work  attributed 
to  St.  Evremont,  and  which  is  said  to  be  by  Dumar- 
sais,  of  which  you  spoke  to  me  some  time  ago  ;  it 
is  good,  but  the  Testament  of  Meslier  is  still 
better ! 

VOLTAIRE  TO   D'ALEMBERT. 

Ferney,  July  16,  1764. 
The  Testament  of  Meslier  ought  to  be  in  the 
pocket  of  all  honest  men  ;   a  good  priest,  full  of 
candor,  who  asks  God's  pardon  for  deceiving  him- 
self, must  enlighten  those  who  deceive  themselves. 

VOLTAIRE  TO  THE  COUNT  d'ARGENTAL. 

Aux  Delices,  February  6,  1762. 
But  no  little  bird  told  me  of  the  infernal  book 
of  that  curate,  Jean  Meslier ;  a  very  important 
work  to  the  angels  of  darkness.  An  excellent  cate- 
chism for  Beelzebub.  Know  that  this  book  is 
very  rare ;  it  is  a  treasure ! 


24  Comnton  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

VOLTAIRE   TO   THE   SAME. 

AUX  DeliCES,  May  31,  1762. 

It  is  just  that  I  should  send  you  a  copy  of  the 
second  edition  of  Meslier.  In  the  first  edition  they 
forgot  the  preface,  which  is  very  strange.  You  have 
wise  friends  who  would  not  be  sorry  to  have  this 
book  in  their  secret  cabinet.  It  is  excellent  to  form 
youthful  minds.  The  book,  which  was  sold  in 
manuscript  form  for  eight  Louis-d'or,  is  illegible. 

This  little  abstract  is  very  edifying.  Let  us  thank 
the  good  souls  who  give  it  gratuitously,  and  let  us 
pray  God  to  extend  His  benedictions  upon  this 
useful  reading. 

VOLTAIRE   TO   d'aMILAVILLE. 

AUX  Delices,  February  8,  1762. 
My  brother  shall  have  a  Meslier  soon  as  I  shall 
have  received  the  order;  it  would  seem  that  my 
brother  has  not  the  facts.  Fifteen  to  twenty  years 
ago  the  manuscript  of  this  work  sold  for  eight 
Louis-d'or;  it  was  a  ver>'  large  quarto.  There  are 
more  than  a  hundred  copies  in  Paris.  Brother 
Thiriot  understands  the  facts.  It  is  not  known 
who  made  the  abstract,  but  it  is  taken  wholly,  word 
for  word,  from  the  original.  There  are  still  many 
persons  who  have  seen  the  curate  Meslier.  It 
would  be  very  useful  to  make  a  new  edition  of  this 


Correspondence.  25 

little  work  in  Paris ;  it  can  be  done  easily  in  three 
or  fout  days. 

VOLTAIRE   TO   THE   SAME. 

Ferney,  December  6,  1762. 
But  I  believe  there  will  never  be  another  impres- 
Bion  of  the  little  book  of  Meslier.     Think  of  the 
weight  of  the  testimony  of  one  dying,  of  a  priest, 
of  a  good  man.    . 

VOLTAIRE   TO   THE   SAME. 

Ferney,  July  6,  1764. 
Three  hundred  Mesliers  distributed  in  a  province 
have  caused  many  conversions.     Ah,  if  I  was  as- 
sisted ! 

VOLTAIRE   TO   THE   SAME. 

Ferney,  September  29,  1764. 
There  are  too  few  Mesliers  and  too  many  swin- 
dlers. 

VOLTAIRE  TO  THE   SAME. 

AUX  Delices,  October  8,  1764. 
Names  injure  the  cause ;  they  awaken  prejudice. 
Only  the  name  of  Jean  Meslier  can  do  good,  be- 
cause the  repentance  of  a  good  priest  in  the  hour 
of  death  must  make  a  great  impression.  This 
Meslier  should  be  in  the  hands  of  all  the  world. 


i 


26  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

VOLTAIRE  TO  MADAM  DE  FLORIAN. 

Aux  Delices,  May  20,  1762. 
My  dear  niece,  it  is  very  sad  to  be  so  far  from 
you.     Read  and  read  again  Jean  Meslier;  he  is  a 
good  curate. 

VOLTAIRE  TO   THE   MARQUIS   D'aRGENCE. 

March  2,  1763. 
I  have  found  a  Testament  of  Jean  Meslier,  which 
I  send  you.  The  simplicity  of  this  man,  the  purity 
of  his  manners,  the  pardon  which  he  asks  of  God, 
and  the  authenticity  of  his  book,  must  produce  a 
great  effect.  I  will  send  you  as  many  copies  as  you 
want  of  the  Testament  of  this  good  curate. 

VOLTAIRE   TO   HELVETIUS. 

Aux  Delices,  May  i,  1763. 
They  have  sent  me  the  two  abstracts  of  J  eat 
Meslier.  It  is  true  that  it  is  written  in  the  style  of 
a  carriage-horse,  but  it  is  well  suited  to  the  street. 
And  what  testimony !  that  of  a  priest  who  asks 
pardon  in  dying,  for  having  taught  absurd  and  hor- 
rible things  !  What  an  answer  to  the  platitudes  of 
fanatics  who  have  the  audacity  to  assert  that  phi- 
losophy is  but  the  fruit  of  libertinage  ! 


LIFE   OF   JEAN    MESLIER. 

BY   VOLTAIRE. 

Jean  Meslier,  born  1678,  in  the  village  of 
Mazerny,  dependency  of  the  duchy  of  Rethel,  was 
the  son  of  a  serge  weaver ;  brought  up  in  the 
country,  he  nevertheless  pursued  his  studies  and 
succeeded  to  the  priesthood.  At  the  seminary, 
where  he  lived  with  much  regularity,  he  devoted 
himself  to  the  system  of  Descartes. 

Becoming  curate  of   Etrepigny  in  Champagne 
and  vicar  of  a  little  annexed  parish  named  Bue,  he 
was  remarkable  for  the  austerity  of  his  habits. 

Devoted  in  all  his  duties,  every  year  he  gave 
V.  hat  remained  of  his  salary  to  the  poor  of  his  par- 
ishes ;  enthusiastic,  and  of  rigid  virtue,  he  was  very 
temperate,  as  much  in  regard  to  his  appetite  as  in 
relation  to  women. 

MM.  Voiri  and  Delavaux,  the  one  curate  of 
Varq,  the  other  curate  of  Roulzicourt,  were  his 
confessors,  and  the  only  ones  with  whom  he  as- 
sociated. 

The  curate  Meslier  was  a  rigid  partisan  of  jus- 
tice, aiicl  scnietimes  carried  his  ze?]  a  little  too  far 


28  Conunon  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

The  lord  of  his  village,  M.  de  Touilly,  having  ill- 
treated  some  peasants,  he  refused  to  pray  for  him 
in  his  service.  M.  de  Mailly,  Archbishop  of  Rheims, 
before  whom  the  case  was  brought,  condemned  him. 
But  the  Sunday  which  followed  this  decision,  the 
abbot  Meslier  stood  in  his  pulpit  and  complained 
of  the  sentence  of  the  cardinal.  "  This  is,"  said  he, 
"  the  general  fate  of  the  poor  country  priest ;  the 
archbishops,  who  are  great  lords,  scorn  them 
and  do  not  listen  to  them.  Therefore,  let  us 
pray  for  the  lord  of  this  place.  We  will  pray  for 
Antoine  de  Touilly,  that  he  may  be  converted  and 
granted  the  grace  that  he  may  not  wrong  the  poor 
and  despoil  the  orphans."  His  lordship,  who  was 
present  at  this  mortifying  supplication,  brought 
new  complaints  before  the  same  archbishop,  who 
ordered  the  curate  Meslier  to  come  to  Donchery, 
where  he  ill-treated  him  with  abusive  language. 

There  have  been  scarcely  any  other  events  in  his 
life,  nor  other  benefice,  than  that  of  Etrepigny. 
He  died  in  the  odor  of  sanctity  in  the  year  1733, 
fifty-five  years  old.  It  is  believed  that,  disgusted 
with  life,  he  expressly  refused  necessary  food,  be- 
cause during  his  sickness  he  was  not  willing  to  take 
anything,  not  even  a  glass  of  wine. 

At  his  death  he  gave  all  he  possessed,  which 
was  inconsiderable,  to  his  parishioners,  and  desired 
to  be  buried  in  his  garden. 


Life  of  Jean  Meslier.  29 

They  were  greatly  surprised  to  find  in  his  house 
three  manuscripts,  each  containing  three  hundred 
and  sixty-six  pages,  all  written  by  his  hand,  signed 
and  entitled  by  him,  ''My  Testament^  This  work, 
which  the  author  addressed  to  his  parishioners  and 
to  M.  Leroux,  advocate  and  procurator  for  the 
parliament  of  Meziers,  is  a  simple  refutation  of  all 
the  religious  dogmas,  without  excepting  one.  The 
grand  vicar  of  Rheims  retained  one  of  the  three 
copies ;  another  was  sent  to  Monsieur  Chauvelin, 
guardian  of  the  State's  seal ;  the  third  remained  at 
the  clerk's  office  of  the  justiciary  of  St.  Minehould. 
The  Count  de  Caylus  had  one  of  those  three  copies 
in  his  possession  for  some  time,  and  soon  afterward 
more  than  one  hundred  were  at  Paris,  sold  at  ten 
Louis-d'or  apiece.  A  dying  priest  accusing  him- 
self of  having  professed  and  taught  the  Christian 
religion,  made  a  deeper  impression  upon  the  mind 
than  the  "  Thoughts  of  Pascal." 

The  curate  Meslier  had  written  upon  a  gray  pa- 
per which  enveloped  the  copy  destined  for  his  par- 
ishioners these  remarkable  words  :  "  I  have  seen  and 
recognized  the  errors,  the  abuses,  the  follies,  and 
the  wickedness  of  men.  I  have  hated  and  despised 
them.  I  did  not  dare  say  it  during  my  life,  but  I 
will  say  it  at  least  in  dying,  and  after  my  death  ;  and 
it  is  that  it  may  be  known,  that  I  write  this  present 
memorial  in  order  that  it  may  serve  as  a  witness  of 


JO  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Mesher. 

truth  to  all  those  who  may  see  and  read  it  if  they 
choose." 

At  the  beginning  of  this  work  is  found  this  doc- 
ument (a  kind  of  honorable  amend,  which  in  his 
letter  to  the  Count  of  d'Argental  of  May  31,  1762, 
Voltaire  qualifies  as  a  preface),  addressed  to  his 
parishioners. 

"  You  know,"  said  he,  "  my  brethren,  my  disinter- 
estedness ;  I  do  not  sacrifice  my  belief  to  any  vile 
interest.  If  I  embraced  a  profession  so  directly 
opposed  to  my  sentiments,  it  was  not  through 
cupidity.  I  obeyed  my  parents.  I  would  have 
preferred  to  enlighten  you  sooner  if  I  could  have 
done  it  safely.  You  are  witnesses  to  what  I  assert. 
I  have  not  disgraced  my  ministry  by  exacting  the 
requitals,  which  are  a  part  of  it. 

"  I  call  heaven  to  witness  that  I  also  thoroughly 
despised  those  who  laughed  at  the  simplicity  of  the 
blind  people,  those  who  furnished  piously  consider- 
able sums  of  money  to  buy  prayers.  How  horrible 
this  monopoly !  I  do  not  blame  the  disdain  which 
those  who  grow  rich  by  your  sweat  and  your  pains, 
show  for  their  mysteries  and  their  superstitions ; 
but  I  detest  their  insatiable  cupidity  and  the  signal 
pleasure  such  fellows  take  in  railing  at  the  igno- 
rance of  those  whom  they  carefully  keep  in  this 
state  of  blindness.  Let  them  content  themselves 
with  laughing  at  their  own  ease,  but  at  least  let 


Life  of  Jean  Meslier.  31 

them  not  multiply  their  errors  by  abusing  the  blind 
piety  of  those  who,  by  their  simplicity,  procured 
them  such  an  easy  life.  You  render  unto  me,  my 
brethren,  the  justice  that  is  due  me.  The  sympa- 
thy which  I  manifested  for  your  troubles  saves  me 
from  the  least  suspicion.  How  often  have  I  per- 
formed gratuitously  the  functions  of  my  ministry. 
How  often  also  has  my  heart  been  grieved  at  not  be- 
ing able  to  assist  you  as  often  and  as  abundantly  as 
I  could  have  wished !  Have  I  not  always  proved 
to  you  that  I  took  more  pleasure  in  giving  than  in 
receiving?  I  carefully  avoided  exhorting  you  to 
bigotry,  and  I  spoke  to  you  as  rarely  as  possible  of 
our  unfortunate  dogmas.  It  was  necessary  that  I 
should  acquit  myself  as  a  priest  of  my  ministry, 
but  how  often  have  I  not  suffered  within  myself 
when  I  was  forced  to  preach  to  you  those  pious  lies 
which  I  despised  in  my  heart.  What  a  disdain  I  had 
for  my  ministry,  and  particularly  for  that  supersti- 
tious Mass,  and  those  ridiculous  administrations  of 
sacraments,  especially  if  I  was  compelled  to  perform 
them  with  the  solemnity  which  awakened  all  your 
piety  and  all  your  good  faith.  What  remorse  I  had 
for  exciting  your  credulity !  A  thousand  times 
upon  the  point  of  bursting  forth  publicly,  I  was 
going  to  open  your  eyes,  but  a  fear  superior  to  my 
strength  restrained  me  and  forced  me  to  silence 
until  my  death." 


32  Common  Sense^  by  Jean  Meslier. 

The  abbot  Meslier  had  written  two  letters  to  the 
curates  of  his  neighborhood  to  inform  them  of  his 
Testament ;  he  told  them  that  he  had  consigned  to 
the  chancery  of  St.  Minnehould  a  copy  of  his  man- 
uscript in  366  leaves  in  octavo ;  but  he  feared  it 
would  be  suppressed,  according  to  the  bad  custom 
established  to  prevent  the  poor  from  being  in- 
structed and  knowing  the  truth. 

The  curate  Meslier,  the  most  singular  phenome- 
non ever  seen  among  all  the  meteors  fatal  to  the 
Christian  religion,  worked  his  whole  life  secretly  in 
order  to  attack  the  opinions  he  believed  false.  To 
compose  his  manuscript  against  God,  against  all 
religion,  against  the  Bible  and  the  Church,  he  had 
no  other  assistance  than  the  Bible  itself,  Moreri 
Montaigne,  and  a  few  fathers. 

While  the  abbot  Meslier  naively  acknowledged 
that  he  did  not  wish  to  be  burned  till  after  his 
death,  Thomas  Woolston,  a  doctor  of  Cambridge, 
published  and  sold  publicly  at  London,  in  his  own 
house,  sixty  thousand  copies  of  his  "Discourses" 
against  the  miracles  of  Jesus  Christ. 

It  was  a  very  astonishing  thing  that  two  priests 
should  at  the  same  time  write  against  the  Christian 
religion.  The  curate  Meslier  has  gone  further  yet 
than  Woolston ;  he  dares  to  treat  the  transport  of 
our  Saviour  by  the  devil  upon  the  mountain,  the 
wedding  of  Cana,  the  bread  and  the  fishes,  as  ab- 


Life  of  Jean  Meslier.  33 

surd  fables,  injurious  to  divinity,  which  were  ignored 
during  three  hundred  years  by  the  whole  Roman 
Empire,  and  finally  passed  from  the  lower  class  to 
the  palace  of  the  emperors,  when  policy  obliged 
them  to  adopt  the  follies  of  the  people  in  order  the 
more  easily  to  subjugate  them.  The  denunciations 
of  the  English  priest  do  not  approach  those  of  the 
Champagne  priest.  Woolston  is  sometimes  indul- 
gent, Meslier  never.  He  was  a  man  profoundly 
embittered  by  the  crimes  he  witnessed,  for  which 
he  holds  the  Christian  religion  responsible.  There 
is  no  miracle  which  to  him  is  not  an  object  of  con- 
tempt and  horror ;  no  prophecy  that  he  does  not 
compare  to  those  of  Nostredamus.  He  wrote  thu? 
against  Jesus  Christ  when  in  the  arms  of  death,  at 
a  time  when  the  most  dissimulating  dare  not  lie, 
and  when  the  most  intrepid  tremble.  Struck  witl 
the  difficulties  which  he  found  in  Scripture,  he  in- 
veighed against  it  more  bitterly  than  the  Acosta 
and  all  the  Jews,  more  than  the  famous  Porphyre, 
Celse,  lamblique,  Julian,  Libanius,  and  all  the  par- 
tisans of  human  reason. 

There  were  found  among  the  books  of  the  curate 
Meslier  a  printed  manuscript  of  the  Treatise  of 
Fenelon,  Archbishop  of  Cambray,  upon  the  exist- 
ence of  God  and  His  attributes,  and  the  reflections 
of  the  Jesuit  Tournemine  upon  Atheism,  to  which 
treatise  he  added  marginal  notes  signed  by  his  hand 


34  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

DECREE 

of  the  National  Convention  upon  the  proposi^ 
tion  to  erect  a  statue  to  the  curate  Jean  Meslier, 
the  27  Brumaire,  in  the  year  II.  (November  17,  1793). 
The  National  Convention  sends  to  the  Committee 
of  Public  Instruction  the  proposition  made  by  one 
of  its  members  to  erect  a  statue  to  Jean  Meslier, 
curate  at  Etrepigny,  in  Champagne,  the  first  priest 
who  had  the  courage  and  the  honesty  to  abjure 
religious  errors. 

PRESIDENT   AND   SECRETARIES. 

Signed — P.  A.  Laloy,  President ;  Bazire,  Charles 
Duval,  Philippeaux,  Frecine,  and  Merlin  (de  Thion- 
ville).  Secretaries. 

Certified  according  to  the  original. 

MEMBERS   OF   THE    COMMITTEE    OF   DECREES   AND 
PROCESS-VERBAL. 

Signed — Batellier,  Echasseriaux,  Monnel,  Beck- 
er, Vernetey,  P6rard,  Vinet,  Bouillerot,  Auger, 
Cordier,  Delecloy,  and  Cosnard. 


PREFACE   OF   THE   AUTHOR. 

When  we  wish  to  examine  in  a  cool,  calm  way 
the  opinions  of  men,  we  are  very  much  surprised 
to  find  that  in  those  which  we  consider  the  most 
essential,  nothing  is  more  rare  than  to  find  them 
using  common  sense  ;  that  is  to  say,  the  portion 
of  judgment  sufiScient  to  know  the  most  simple 
truths,  to  reject  the  most  striking  absurdities,  and 
to  be  shocked  by  palpable  contradictions.  We 
have  an  example  of  this  in  Theology,  a  science 
revered  in  all  times,  in  all  countries,  by  the  great- 
est number  of  mortals  ;  an  object  considered  the 
most  important,  the  most  useful,  and  the  most 
indispensable  to  the  happiness  of  society.  If  they 
would  but  take  the  trouble  to  sound  the  principles 
upon  which  this  pretended  science  rests  itself,  they 
would  be  compelled  to  admit  that  the  principles 
which  were  considered  incontestable,  are  but  haz- 
ardous suppositions,  conceived  in  ignorance,  propa- 
gated by  enthusiasm  or  bad  intention,  adopted  by 
timid  credulity,  preserved  by  habit,  which  never 
reasons,  and  revered  solely  because  it  is  not  com- 
prehended.   Some,  says  Montaigne,  make  the  world 

(35) 


36  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

believe  that  which  they  do  not  themselves  believe 
a  greater  number  of  others  make  themselves  be- 
lieve, not  comprehending  what  it  is  to  believe.  In 
a  word,  whoever  will  consult  common  sense  upon 
religious  opinions,  and  will  carry  into  this  examina- 
tion the  attention  given  to  objects  of  ordinary  in- 
terest, will  easily  perceive  that  these  opinions  have 
no  solid  foundation  ;  that  all  religion  is  but  a  castle 
in  the  air  ;  that  Theology  is  but  ignorance  of  natu- 
ral causes  reduced  to  a  system  ;  that  it  is  but  a  long 
tissue  of  chimeras  and  contradictions  ;  that  it  pre- 
sents to  all  the  different  nations  of  the  earth  only 
romances  devoid  of  probability,  of  which  the  hero 
himself  is  made  up  of  qualities  impossible  to  rec- 
oncile, his  name  having  the  power  to  excite  in  all 
hearts  respect  and  fear,  is  found  to  be  but  a  vague 
word,  which  men  continually  utter,  being  able  to 
attach  to  it  only  such  ideas  or  qualities  as  are  be- 
lied by  the  facts,  or  which  evidently  contradict  each 
other.  The  notion  of  this  imaginary  being,  or  rather 
the  word  by  which  we  designate  him,  would  be  of 
no  consequence  did  it  not  cause  ravages  without 
number  upon  the  earth.  Born  into  the  opinion 
that  this  phantom  is  for  them  a  very  interesting 
realit}-,  men,  instead  of  wisely  concluding  from  its 
incomprehensibility  that  they  are  exempt  from 
thinking  of  it,  on  the  contrary,  conclude  that  they 
can  not  occupy  themselves  enough  about  it,  that 


Preface  of  the  Author.  37 

they  must  meditate  upon  it  without  ceasing,  reason 
without  end,  and  never  lose  sight  of  it.  The  invin- 
cible ignorance  in  which  they  are  kept  in  this  respect, 
far  from  discouraging  them,  does  but  excite  their 
curiosity  ;  instead  of  putting  them  on  guard  against 
their  imagination,  this  ignorance  makes  them  posi- 
tive, dogmatic,  imperious,  and  causes  them  to  quar- 
rel with  all  those  who  oppose  doubts  to  the  reve- 
ries which  their  brains  have  brought  forth.  What 
perplexity,  when  we  attempt  to  solve  an  unsolvable 
problem !  Anxious  meditations  upon  an  object  im- 
possible to  grasp,  and  which,  however,  is  supposed 
to  be  very  important  to  him,  can  but  put  a  man 
into  bad  humor,  and  produce  in  his  brain  dan- 
gerous transports.  When  interest,  vanity,  and  am- 
bition are  joined  to  such  a  morose  disposition,  so- 
ciety necessarily  becomes  troubled.  This  is  why  sc 
many  nations  have  often  become  the  theaters  of 
extravagances  caused  by  nonsensical  visionists,  who, 
publishing  their  shallow  speculations  for  the  eter- 
nal truth,  have  kindled  the  enthusiasm  of  princes 
and  of  people,  and  have  prepared  them  for  opin- 
ions which  they  represented  as  essential  to  the 
glory  of  divinity  and  to  the  happiness  of  empires. 
We  have  seen,  a  thousand  times,  in  all  parts  of  our 
globe,  infuriated  fanatics  slaughtering  each  other, 
lighting  the  funeral  piles,  committing  without 
scruple,  as  a  matter  of  duty,  the  greatest  crimes. 


3^  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

Why  ?  To  maintain  or  to  propagate  the  imperti- 
nent conjectures  of  enthusiasts,  or  to  sanction  the 
knaveries  of  impostors  on  account  of  a  being  who 
exists  only  in  their  imagination,  and  who  is  known 
only  by  the  ravages,  the  disputes,  and  the  follies 
which  he  has  caused  upon  the  earth. 

Originally,  savage  nations,  ferocious,  perpetually 
at  war,  adored,  under  various  names,  some  God  con- 
formed to  their  ideas;  that  is  to  say,  cruel,  car- 
nivorous, selfish,  greedy  of  blood.  We  find  in  all 
the  religions  of  the  earth  a  God  of  armies,  a  jealous 
God,  an  avenging  God,  an  exterminating  God,  a 
God  who  enjoys  carnage  and  whose  worshipers 
make  it  a  duty  to  serve  him  to  his  taste.  Lambs, 
bulls,  children,  men,  heretics,  infidels,  kings,  whole 
nations,  are  sacrificed  to  him.  The  zealous  serv- 
ants of  this  barbarous  God  go  so  far  as  to  believe 
that  they  are  obliged  to  offer  themselves  as  a  sacri- 
fice to  him.  Everywhere  we  see  zealots  who,  after 
having  sadly  meditated  upon  their  terrible  God, 
imagine  that,  in  order  to  please  him,  they  must  do 
themselves  all  the  harm  possible,  and  inflict  upon 
themselves,  in  his  honor,  all  imaginable  torments. 
In  a  word,  everywhere  the  baneful  ideas  of  Divinity, 
far  from  consoling  men  for  misfortunes  incident  to 
their  existence,  have  filled  the  heart  with  trouble, 
and  given  birth  to  follies  destructive  to  them. 
How  could  the  human  mind,  filled  with  frightful 


Preface  of  the  Author.  39 

phantoms  and  guided  by  men  interested  in  per- 
petuating its  ignorance  and  its  fear,  make  progress  ? 
Man  was  compelled  to  vegetate  in  his  primitive 
stupidity  ;  he  was  preserved  only  by  invisible  pow- 
ers, upon  whom  his  fate  was  supposed  to  depend^ 
Solely  occupied  with  his  alarms  and  his  unintel- 
ligible reveries,  he  was  always  at  the  mercy  of  his 
priests,  who  reserved  for  themselves  the  right  of 
thinking  for  him  and  of  regulating  his  conduct. 

Thus  man  was,  and  always  remained,  a  child 
without  experience,  a  slave  without  courage,  a  log- 
gerhead who  feared  to  reason,  and  who  could  never 
escape  from  the  labyrinth  into  which  his  ancestors 
had  misled  him  ;  he  felt  compelled  to  groan  under 
the  yoke  of  his  Gods,  of  whom  he  knew  nothing 
except  the  fabulous  accounts  of  their  ministers. 
These,  after  having  fettered  him  by  the  ties  of 
opinion,  have  remained  his  masters  or  delivered 
him  up  defenseless  to  the  absolute  power  of  ty- 
rants, no  less  terrible  than  the  Gods,  of  whom  they 
were  the  representatives  upon  the  earth.  Oppressed 
by  the  double  yoke  of  spiritual  and  temporal  power, 
it  was  impossible  for  the  people  to  instruct  them- 
selves and  to  work  for  their  own  welfare.  Thus, 
religion,  politics,  and  morals  became  sanctuaries, 
into  which  the  profane  were  not  permitted  to  en- 
ter. Men  had  no  other  morality  than  that  which 
their  legislators  and  their  priests  claimed  as  de- 


40  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

scended  from  unknown  empyrean  regions.  The 
human  mind,  perplexed  by  these  theological  opin. 
ions,  misunderstood  itself,  doubted  its  own  powers, 
mistrusted  experience,  feared  truth,  disdained  its 
reason,  and  left  it  to  blindly  follow  authority.  Man 
was  a  pure  machine  in  the  hands  of  his  tyrants  and 
his  priests,  who  alone  had  the  right  to  regulate  his 
movements.  Always  treated  as  a  slave,  he  had  at 
all  times  and  in  all  places  the  vices  and  dispositions 
of  a  slave. 

These  are  the  true  sources  of  the  corruption  of 
habits,  to  which  religion  never  opposes  anything 
but  ideal  and  ineffectual  obstacles ;  ignorance  and 
servitude  have  a  tendency  to  make  men  wicked  and 
unhappy.  Science,  reason,  liberty,  alone  can  reform 
them  and  render  them  more  happy ;  but  every- 
thing conspires  to  blind  them  and  to  confirm  them 
in  their  blindness.  The  priests  deceive  them,  ty- 
rants corrupt  them  in  order  to  subjugate  them  more 
easily.  Tyranny  has  been,  and  will  always  be,  the 
chief  source  of  the  depraved  morals  and  habitual 
calamities  of  the  people.  These,  almost  always 
fascinated  by  their  religious  notions  or  by  meta- 
physical fictions,  instead  of  looking  upon  the  nat- 
ural and  visible  causes  of  their  miseries,  attribute 
their  vices  to  the  imperfections  of  their  nature,  and 
their  misfortunes  to  the  anger  of  their  Gods ;  they 
offer  to  Heaven  vows,  sacrifices,  and  presents,  in 


Preface  of  the  Author.  41 

order  to  put  an  end  to  their  misfortunes,  which  are 
really  due  only  to  the  negligence,  the  ignorance, 
and  to  the  perversity  of  their  guides,  to  the  folly 
of  their  institutions,  to  their  foolish  customs,  to 
their  false  opinions,  to  their  unreasonable  laws,  and 
especially  to  their  want  of  enlightenment.  Let 
the  mind  be  filled  early  with  true  ideas ;  let  man's 
reason  be  cultivated  ;  let  justice  govern  him  ;  and 
there  will  be  no  need  of  opposing  to  his  passions 
the  powerless  barrier  of  the  fear  of  Gods.  Men 
will  be  good  when  they  are  well  taught,  well  gov- 
erned, chastised  or  censured  for  the  evil,  and  justly 
rewarded  for  the  good  which  they  have  done  to 
their  fellow-citizens.  It  is  idle  to  pretend  to  cure 
mortals  of  their  vices  if  we  do  not  begin  by  curing 
them  of  their  prejudices.  It  is  only  by  showing  them 
the  truth  that  they  can  know  their  best  interests 
and  the  real  motives  which  will  lead  them  to  hap- 
piness. Long  enough  have  the  instructors  of  the 
people  fixed  their  eyes  on  heaven ;  let  them  at  last 
bring  them  back  to  the  earth.  Tired  of  an  incompre- 
hensible theology,  of  ridiculous  fables,  of  impene- 
trable mysteries,  of  puerile  ceremonies,  let  the  hu- 
man mind  occupy  itself  with  natural  things,  intelli- 
gible objects,  sensible  truths,  and  useful  knowledge. 
Let  the  vain  chimeras  which  beset  the  people  be 
dissipated,  and  very  soon  rational  opinions  will  fill 
the  minds  of  those  who  were  believed  fated  to  be 


42  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

always  in  error.  To  annihilate  religious  prejudices, 
it  would  be  sufficient  to  show  that  what  is  incon- 
ceivable to  man  can  not  be  of  any  use  to  him. 
Does  it  need,  then,  anything  but  simple  common 
sense  to  perceive  that  a  being  most  clearly  irrecon- 
cilable with  the  notions  of  mankind,  that  a  cause 
continually  opposed  to  the  effects  attributed  to 
him ;  that  a  being  of  whom  not  a  word  can  be  said 
without  falling  into  contradictions ;  that  a  being 
who,  far  from  explaining  the  mysteries  of  the  uni- 
verse, only  renders  them  more  inexplicable ;  that  a 
being  to  whom  for  so  many  centuries  men  ad- 
dressed themselves  so  vainly  to  obtain  their  happi- 
ness and  deliverance  from  their  sufferings  ;  does  it 
need,  I  say,  more  than  simple  common  sense  to 
understand  that  the  idea  of  such  a  being  is  an  idea 
without  model,  and  that  he  is  himself  evidently 
not  a  reasonable  being?  Does  it  require  more  than 
common  sense  to  feel  that  there  is  at  least  delirium 
and  frenzy  in  hating  and  tormenting  each  other  for 
unintelligible  opinions  of  a  being  of  this  kind  ?  Fi- 
nally, does  it  not  all  prove  that  morality  and  virtue 
are  totally  incompatible  with  the  idea  of  a  God, 
whose  ministers  and  interpreters  have  painted  him 
in  all  countries  as  the  most  fantastic,  the  most  un- 
just, and  the  most  cruel  of  tyrants,  whose  pre- 
tended wishes  are  to  serve  as  rules  and  laws  for 
the  inhabitants  of  the   earth  ?     To   discover  the 


Preface  of  the  Author.  43 

true  principles  of  morality,  men  have  no  need  of 
theology,  of  revelation,  or  of  Gods  ;  they  need  but 
common  sense ;  they  have  only  to  look  within 
themselves,  to  reflect  upon  their  own  nature,  to 
consult  their  obvious  interests,  to  consider  the  ob- 
ject of  society  and  of  each  of  the  members  who 
compose  it,  and  they  will  easily  understand  that 
virtue  is  an  advantage,  and  that  vice  is  an  injury 
to  beings  of  their  species.  Let  us  teach  men  to  be 
just,  benevolent,  moderate,  and  sociable,  not  be- 
cause their  Gods  exact  it,  but  to  please  men ;  let 
us  tell  them  to  abstain  from  vice  and  from  crime, 
not  because  they  will  be  punished  in  another  world, 
but  because  they  will  suffer  in  the  present  world. 
There  are,  says  Montesquieu,  means  to  prevent 
crime,  they  are  sufferings ;  to  change  the  man- 
ners, these  are  good  examples.  Truth  is  simple, 
error  is  complicated,  uncertain  in  its  gait,  full  of 
by-ways ;  the  voice  of  nature  is  intelligible,  that  of 
falsehood  is  ambiguous,  enigmatical,  and  myste- 
rious ;  the  road  of  truth  is  straight,  that  of  imposture 
is  oblique  and  dark;  this  truth,  always  necessary  to 
man,  is  felt  by  all  just  minds ;  the  lessons  of  reason 
are  followed  by  all  honest  souls ;  men  are  unhappy 
only  because  they  are  ignorant ;  they  are  ignorant 
only  because  everything  conspires  to  prevent  them 
from  being  enlightened,  and  they  are  wicked  only 
because  their  reason  is  not  sufficiently  developed. 


COMMON    SENSE. 


Detexit  quo  dolose  Vaticinandi  furore  sacerdotes  mysteria, 
illis  saepe  ignota,  audactur  publicant. — Petron.  Satyr. 

I. — APOLOGUE. 

There  is  a  vast  empire  governed  by  a  monarch, 
whose  conduct  does  but  confound  the  minds  of  his 
subjects.  He  desires  to  be  known,  loved,  respected, 
and  obeyed,  but  he  never  shows  himself;  every- 
thing tends  to  make  uncertain  the  notions  which 
we  are  able  to  form  about  him.  The  people  sub- 
jected to  his  power  have  only  such  ideas  of  the 
character  and  the  laws  of  their  invisible  sovereign 
as  his  ministers  give  them  ;  these  suit,  however,  be- 
cause they  themselves  have  no  idea  of  their  mas- 
ter, for  his  ways  are  impenetrable,  and  his  views 
and  his  qualities  are  totally  incomprehensible ; 
moreover,  his  ministers  disagree  among  themselves 
in  regard  to  the  orders  which  they  pretend  ema- 
nated from  the  sovereign  whose  organs  they  claim 
to  be  ;  they  announce  them  diversely  in  each  prov- 
ince of  the  empire  ;  they  discredit  and  treat  each 
other  as  impostors  and  liars  ;  the  decrees  and  or- 
dinances which  they  promulgate  are  obscure  ;  they 
are  enigmas,  made  not  to  be  understood  or  divined 


46  Common  Sense,  oy  Jean  Me  slier. 

by  the  subjects  for  whose  instruction  they  were  in- 
tended. The  laws  of  the  invisible  monarch  need 
interpreters,  but  those  who  explain  them  are  always 
quarreling  among  themselves  about  the  true  way 
of  understanding  them  ;  more  than  this,  they  do 
not  agree  among  themselves ;  all  which  they  relate 
of  their  hidden  prince  is  but  a  tissue  of  contradic- 
tions, scarcely  a  single  word  that  is  not  contradicted 
at  once.  He  is  called  supremely  good,  neverthe- 
less not  a  person  but  complains  of  his  decrees.  He 
is  supposed  to  be  infinitely  wise,  and  in  his  admin- 
istration everything  seems  contrary  to  reason  and 
good  sense.  They  boast  of  his  justice,  and  the 
best  of  his  subjects  are  generally  the  least  favored. 
We  are  assured  that  he  sees  everything,  yet  his 
presence  remedies  nothing.  It  is  said  that  he  is 
the  friend  of  order,  and  everything  in  his  universe 
is  in  a  state  of  confusion  and  disorder ;  all  is  created 
by  him,  yet  events  rarely  happen  according  to  his 
projects.  He  foresees  everything,  but  his  foresight 
prevents  nothing.  He  is  impatient  if  any  offend 
him  ;  at  the  same  time  he  puts  every  one  in  the 
way  of  offending  him.  His  knowledge  is  admired 
in  the  perfection  of  his  works,  but  his  works  are 
full  of  imperfections,  and  of  little  permanence.  He 
is  continually  occupied  in  creating  and  destroying, 
then  repairing  what  he  has  done,  never  appearing 
to  be  satisfied  with  his  work.  In  all  his  enterprises 
he  seeks  but  his  own  glory,  but  he  does  not  suc- 
ceed in  being  glorified.  He  works  but  for  the  good 
of  his  subjects,  and  most  of  them  lack  the  necessi- 
ties of  life.     Those  whom  he  seems  to  favor,  are 


What  is   Theology  f  47 

generally  those  who  are  the  least  satisfied  with 
their  fate  ;  we  see  them  all  continually  revolting 
against  a  master  whose  greatness  they  admire, 
whose  wisdom  they  extol,  whose  goodness  they 
worship,  and  whose  justice  they  fear,  revering 
orders  which  they  never  follow.  This  empire  is 
the  world  ;  its  monarch  is  God  ;  His  ministers  are 
the  priests  ;  their  subjects  are  men. 

II. — WHAT  IS  THEOLOGY? 
There  is  a  science  which  has  for  its  object  only 
incomprehensible  things.  Unlike  all  others,  it  oc- 
cupies itself  but  with  things  unseen.  Hobbes  calls 
it  "  the  kingdom  of  darkness."  In  this  land  all 
obey  laws  opposed  to  those  which  men  acknowl- 
edge in  the  world  they  inhabit.  In  this  marvel- 
ous region  light  is  but  darkness,  evidence  becomes 
doubtful  or  false,  the  impossible  becomes  credible, 
reason  is  an  unfaithful  guide,  and  common  sense 
changed  into  delirium.  This  science  is  named 
Theology,  and  this  Theology  is  a  continual  insult 
to  human  reasom 

III. — CONTINUATION. 

By  frequent  repetition  of  if,  but,  and  perhaps, 
we  succeed  in  forming  an  imperfect  and  broken 
system  which  perplexes  men's  minds  to  the  extent 
of  making  them  forget  the  clearest  notions,  and  to 
render  uncertain  the  most  palpable  truths.  By  the 
aid  of  this  systematic  nonsense,  all  nature  has  be- 
come an  inexplicable  enigma  for  man  ;  the  visible 
world  has  disappeared  to  give  place  to  invisible  re- 


4-8  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

gions ;  reason  is  obliged  to  give  place  to  imagina- 
tion, which  can  lead  us  only  to  the  land  of  chime- 
ras which  she  herself  has  invented. 

IV. — MAN   BORN   NEITHER   RELIGIOUS   NOR 
DEISTICAL. 

All  religious  principles  are  founded  upon  the 
idea  of  a  God,  but  it  is  impossible  for  men  to  have 
true  ideas  of  a  being  who  does  not  act  upon  any 
one  of  their  senses.  All  our  ideas  are  but  pictures 
of  objects  which  strike  us.  What  can  the  idea  of 
God  represent  to  us  when  it  is  evidently  an  idea 
without  an  object  ?  Is  not  such  an  idea  as  impossi- 
ble as  an  effect  without  a  cause  ?  An  idea  without 
a  prototype,  is  it  anything  but  a  chimera?  Some 
theologians,  however,  assure  us  that  the  idea  of 
God  is  innate,  or  that  men  have  this  idea  from  the 
time  of  their  birth.  Every  principle  is  a  judgment ; 
all  judgment  is  the  effect  of  experience  ;  experience 
is  not  acquired  but  by  the  exercise  of  the  senses: 
from  which  it  follows  that  religious  principles  are 
drawn  from  nothing,  and  are  not  innate. 

V. — IT  IS  NOT  NECESSARY  TO  BELIEVE  IN  A  GOD, 
AND  THE  MOST  REASONABLE  THING  IS  NOT 
rO   THINK   OF   HIM. 

No  religious  system  can  be  founded  otherwise 
than  upon  the  nature  of  God  and  of  men,  and 
upon  the  relations  they  bear  to  each  other.  But, 
in  order  to  judge  of  the  reality  of  these  relations, 
we  must  have  some  idea  of  the  Divine  nature.  But 
everybody  tells  us  that  the  essence  of  God  is  in- 


Every  Religion  is  an  Absurdity.  49 

comprehensible  to  man ;  at  the  same  time  they  do 
not  hesitate  to  assign  attributes  to  this  incompre- 
hensible God,  and  assure  us  that  man  can  not  dis- 
pense with  a  knowledge  of  this  God  so  impossible 
to  conceive  of.  The  most  important  thing  for  men 
is  that  which  is  the  most  impossible  for  them  to 
comprehend.  If  God  is  incomprehensible  to  man, 
it  would  seem  rational  never  to  think  of  Him  at 
all ;  but  religion  concludes  that  man  is  criminal  if 
he  ceases  for  a  moment  to  revere  Him. 

VI. — RELIGION   IS   FOUNDED    UPON   CREDULITY. 

We  are  told  that  Divine  qualities  are  not  of  a 
nature  to  be  grasped  by  limited  minds.  The  nat- 
ural consequence  of  this  principle  ought  to  be  that 
the  Divine  qualities  are  not  made  to  employ  limited 
minds ;  but  religion  assures  us  that  limited  minds 
should  never  lose  sight  of  this  inconceivable  being, 
whose  qualities  can  not  be  grasped  by  them :  from 
which  we  see  that  religion  is  the  art  of  occupying 
limited  minds  with  that  which  is  impossible  for 
them  to  comprehend. 

VII. — EVERY   RELIGION   IS   AN   ABSURDITY. 

Religion  unites  man  with  God  or  puts  them  in 
communication ;  but  do  you  say  that  God  is  infi- 
nite ?  If  God  is  infinite,  no  finite  being  can  have 
communication  or  any  relation  with  Him.  Where 
there  are  no  relations,  there  can  be  no  union,  no 
correspondence,  no  duties.  If  there  are  no  duties 
between  man  and  his  God,  there  exists  no  religion 
for  man.     Thus  by  saying  that  God  is  infinite,  you 


50  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

annihilate,  from  that  moment,  all  religion  for  man, 
who  is  a  finite  being.  The  idea  of  infinity  is  for  us 
in  idea  without  model,  without  prototype,  without 
object. 

VIII. — THE   NOTION   OF   GOD   IS   IMPOSSIBLE. 

If  God  is  an  infinite  being,  there  can  be  neither 
in  the  actual  world  or  in  another  any  proportion 
between  man  and  his  God ;  thus  the  idea  of  God 
will  never  enter  the  human  mind.  In  the  supposi- 
tion of  a  life  where  men  will  be  more  enlightened 
than  in  this  one,  the  infinity  of  God  will  always 
place  such  a  distance  between  his  idea  and  the 
limited  mind  of  man,  that  he  will  not  be  able  to 
conceive  of  God  any  more  in  a  future  life  than  in 
the  present.  Hence,  it  evidently  follows  that  the 
idea  of  God  will  not  be  better  suited  to  man  in  the 
other  life  than  in  the  present.  God  is  not  made 
for  man ;  it  follows  also  that  intelligences  superior 
to  man — such  as  angels,  archangels,  seraphims,  and 
saints — can  have  no  more  complete  notions  of  God 
than  has  man,  who  does  not  understand  anything 
about  Him  here  below. 

IX. — ORIGIN   OF   SUPERSTITION. 

How  is  it  that  we  have  succeeded  in  persuading 
reasonable  beings  that  the  thing  most  impossible 
to  understand  was  the  most  essential  for  them.  It 
is  because  they  were  greatly  frightened  ;  it  is  be- 
cause when  men  are  kept  in  fear  they  cease  to  rea- 
son ;  it  is  because  they  have  been  expressly  en- 
joined to  distrust  their  reason.     When  the  brain 


Religion  Entices  Igjwrance.  %\ 

is  troubled,  we  believe    everything  and  examine 
nothing. 

X. — ORIGIN  OF  ALL  RELIGION. 
Ignorance  and  fear  are  the  two  pivots  of  all  relig- 
ion. The  uncertainty  attending  man's  relation  to 
his  God  is  precisely  the  motive  which  attaches  him 
to  his  religion.  Man  is  afraid  when  in  darkness — 
physical  or  moral.  His  fear  is  habitual  to  him 
and  becomes  a  necessity ;  he  would  believe  that  he 
lacked  something  if  he  had  nothing  to  fear. 

XL — IN  THE  NAME  OF  RELIGION  CHARLATANS 
TAKE  ADVANTAGE  OF  THE  WEAKNESS  OF 
MEN. 
He  who  from  his  childhood  has  had  a  habit  of 
trembling  every  time  he  heard  certain  words,  needs 
these  words,  and  needs  to  tremble.  In  this  way  he 
is  more  disposed  to  listen  to  the  one  who  encour- 
ages his  fears  than  to  the  one  who  would  dispel 
his  fears.  The  superstitious  man  wants  to  be  afraid  ; 
his  imagination  demands  it.  It  seems  that  he  fears 
nothing  more  than  having  no  object  to  fear.  Men 
are  imaginary  patients,  whom  interested  charlatans 
take  care  to  encourage  in  their  weakness,  in  order 
to  have  a  market  for  their  remedies.  Physicians 
who  order  a  great  number  of  remedies  are  more 
listened  to  than  those  who  recommend  a  good 
regimen,  and  who  leave  nature  to  act. 

XIL — RELIGION   ENTICES   IGNORANCE   BY  THE  AID 
OF   THE   MARVELOUS. 

If  religion  was  clear,  it  would  have  fewer  attrac- 
tions for  the  ignorant.     They  need  obscurity,  mys- 


52  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

teries,  fables,  miracles,  incredible  things,  which  keep 
their  brains  perpetually  at  work.  Romances,  idle 
stories,  tales  of  ghosts  and  witches,  have  more 
charms  for  the  vulgar  than  true  narrations. 

XIII. — CONTINUATION. 
In  the  matter  of  religion,  men  are  but  overgrown 
children.  The  more  absurd  a  religion  is,  and  the 
fuller  of  marvels,  the  more  power  it  exerts ;  the 
devotee  thinks  himself  obliged  to  place  no  limits 
to  his  credulity ;  the  more  inconceivable  things 
are,  the  more  divine  they  appear  to  him  ;  the  more 
incredible  they  are,  the  more  merit  he  gives  him- 
self for  believing  them. 

XIV. — THERE  WOULD  NEVER  HAVE  BEEN  ANY 
RELIGION  IF  THERE  HAD  NEVER  BEEN  ANY 
DARK   AND   BARBAROUS  AGES. 

The  origin  of  religious  opinions  dates,  as  a  gen- 
eral thing,  from  the  time  when  savage  nations  were 
yet  in  a  state  of  infancy.  It  was  to  coarse,  igno- 
rant, and  stupid  men  that  the  founders  of  religion 
addressed  themselves  in  all  ages,  in  order  to  pre- 
sent them  with  Gods,  ceremonies,  histories  of 
fabulous  Divinities,  marvelous  and  terrible  fables. 
These  chimeras,  adopted  without  examination  by 
the  fathers,  have  been  transmitted  with  more  or 
less  changes  to  their  polished  children,  who  often 
do  not  reason  more  than  their  fathers. 

XV. — ALL   RELIGION   WAS   BORN   OF  THE   DESIRE 
TO   DOMINATE. 
The  first  legislators  of  nations  had  for  their  object 
to  dominate,    The  easiest  means  of  succeeding  was 


The  Existence  of  God  Impossible.  53 

to  frighten  the  people  and  to  prevent  them  from 
reasoning;  they  led  them  by  tortuous  paths  in 
order  that  they  should  not  perceive  the  designs  of 
their  guides  ;  they  compelled  them  to  look  into  the 
air,  for  fear  they  should  look  to  their  feet ;  they 
amused  them  upon  the  road  by  stories  ;  in  a  word, 
they  treated  them  in  the  way  of  nurses,  who  em- 
ploy songs  and  menaces  to  put  the  children  to 
sleep,  or  to  force  them  to  be  quiet. 

XVI.— THAT  WHICH  SERVES  AS  A  BASIS  FOR  ALL 
RELIGION  IS  VERY  UNCERTAIN. 
The  existence  of  a  God  is  the  basis  of  all  religion. 
Few  people  seem  to  doubt  this  existence,  but  this 
fundamental  principle  is  precisely  the  one  which 
prevents  every  mind  from  reasoning.  The  first 
question  of  every  catechism  was,  and  will  always 
be,  the  most  difficult  one  to  answer. 

XVII. — IT   IS   IMPOSSIBLE   TO   BE   CONVINCED   OF 
THE   EXISTENCE   OF   GOD. 

Can  one  honestly  say  that  he  is  convinced  of  the 
existence  of  a  being  whose  nature  is  not  known, 
who  remains  inaccessible  to  all  our  senses,  and  of 
whose  qualities  we  are  constantly  assured  that  they 
are  incomprehensible  to  us  ?  In  order  to  persuade 
me  that  a  being  exists,  or  can  exist,  he  must  begin 
by  telling  me  what  this  being  is ;  in  order  to  make 
me  believe  the  existence  or  the  possibility  of  such  a 
being,  he  must  tell  me  things  about  him  which  are 
not  contradictory,  and  which  do  not  destroy  one  an- 
other; finally,  in  order  to  convince  me  fully  of  the 


54  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

existence  of  this  being,  he  must  tell  me  things 
about  him  which  I  can  comprehend,  and  prove  to 
me  that  it  is  impossible  that  the  being  to  whom  he 
attributes  these  qualities  does  not  exist. 

XVIII.— CONTINUATION. 

A  thing  is  impossible  when  it  is  composed  of  two 
ideas  so  antagonistic,  that  we  can  not  think  of  them 
at  the  same  time.  Evidence  can  be  relied  on  only 
when  confirmed  by  the  constant  testimony  of  our 
senses,  which  alone  give  birth  to  ideas,  and  enable 
us  to  judge  of  their  conformity  or  of  their  incompat 
ibility.  That  which  exists  necessarily,  is  that  of 
which  the  non-existence  would  imply  contradic- 
tion. These  principles,  universally  recognized,  are 
at  fault  when  the  question  of  the  existence  of  God 
is  considered ;  what  has  been  said  of  Him  is  either 
unintelligible  or  perfectly  contradictory ;  and  for 
this  reason  must  appear  impossible  to  every  man 
of  common  sense. 

XIX. — THE   EXISTENCE   OF   GOD   IS   NOT   PROVED. 

All  human  intelligences  are  more  or  less  enlight- 
ened and  cultivated.  By  what  fatality  is  it  that 
the  science  of  God  has  never  been  explained  ?  The 
most  civilized  nations  and  the  most  profound  think- 
ers are  of  the  same  opinion  in  regard  to  the  matter 
as  the  most  barbarous  nations  and  the  most  igno- 
rant and  rustic  people.  As  we  examine  the  subject 
more  closely,  we  will  find  that  the  science  of  divin- 
ity by  means  of  reveries  and  subtleties  has  but  ob- 
scured it  more  and  more.    Thus  far,  all  religion  has 


Spirituality  is  a  Chimera.  55 

been  founded  on  what  is  called  in  logic,  a  "  begging 
of  the  question  ;  "  it  supposes  freely,  and  then 
proves,  finally,  by  the  suppositions  it  has  made. 

XX. — TO  SAY  THAT   GOD  IS  A  SPIRIT,  IS   TO  SPEAK 
WITHOUT   SAYING  ANYTHING  AT  ALL. 

By  metaphysics,  God  is  made  a  pure  spirit,  but  has 
modern  theology  advanced  one  step  further  than 
the  theology  of  the  barbarians?  They  recognized 
a  grand  spirit  as  master  of  the  world.  The  barba- 
rians, like  all  ignorant  men,  attribute  to  spirits  all 
the  effects  of  which  their  inexperience  prevents 
them  from  discovering  the  true  causes.  Ask  a  bar- 
barian what  causes  your  watch  to  move,  he  will  an- 
swer, "  a  spirit !  "  Ask  our  philosophers  what 
moves  the  universe,  they  will  tell  you  "  it  is  a 
spirit." 

XXI. — SPIRITUALITY   IS   A   CHIMERA. 

The  barbarian,  when  he  speaks  of  a  spirit,  at- 
taches at  least  some  sense  to  this  word ;  he  un- 
derstands by  it  an  agent  similar  to  the  wind,  to 
the  agitated  air,  to  the  breath,  which  produces,  in- 
visibly, effects  that  we  perceive.  By  subtilizing, 
the  modern  theologian  becomes  as  little  intelligible 
to  himself  as  to  others.  Ask  him  what  he  means 
by  a  spirit  ?  He  will  answer,  that  it  is  an  unknown 
substance,  which  is  perfectly  simple,  which  has 
nothing  tangible,  nothing  in  common  with  matter. 
In  good  faith,  is  there  any  mortal  who  can  form 
the  least  idea  of  such  a  substance  ?  A  spirit  in  the 
language  of  modern  theology  is  then  but  an  absence 


56  Comtnon  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

of  ideas.     The  idea  of  spirituality  is  another  idea 
without  a  model. 


XXII. — ALL  WHICH   EXISTS   SPRINGS   FROM   THE 
BOSOM   OF   MATTER. 

Is  it  not  more  natural  and  more  intelligible  to 
deduce  all  which  exists,  from  the  bosom  of  matter, 
whose  existence  is  demonstrated  by  all  our  senses, 
whose  effects  we  feel  at  every  moment,  which  we 
see  act,  move,  communicate,  motion,  and  constant- 
ly bring  living  beings  into  existence,  than  to  at- 
tribute the  formation  of  things  to  an  unknown 
force,  to  a  spiritual  being,  who  can  not  draw  from 
his  ground  that  which  he  has  not  himself,  and 
who,  by  the  spiritual  essence  claimed  for  him,  is 
incapable  of  making  anything,  and  of  putting  any- 
thing in  motion  ?  Nothing  is  plainer  than  that  they 
would  have  us  believe  that  an  intangible  spirit  can 
act  upon  matter. 

XXIII. — WHAT     IS     THE     METAPHYSICAL    GOD     OF 
MODERN   THEOLOGY? 

The  material  Jupiter  of  the  ancients  could  move, 
build  up,  destroy,  and  propagate  beings  similar  to 
himself;  but  the  God  of  modern  theology  is  a 
sterile  being.  According  to  his  supposed  nature 
he  can  neither  occupy  any  place,  nor  move  matter, 
nor  produce  a  visible  world,  nor  propagate  either 
men  or  Gods.  The  metaphysical  God  is  a  work- 
man without  hands ;  he  is  able  but  to  produce 
clouds,  suspicions,  reveries,  follies,  and  quarrels. 


God  Incapable  of  Willing  and  Acting.  57 

XXIV. — IT   WOULD    BE   MORE    RATIONAL   TO  WOR- 
SHIP  THE   SUN   THAN   A   SPIRITUAL   GOD. 

Since  it  was  necessary  for  men  to  have  a  God, 
why  did  they  not  have  the  sun,  the  visible  God, 
adored  by  so  many  nations  ?  What  being  had 
more  right  to  the  homage  of  mortals  than  the  star 
of  the  day,  which  gives  light  and  heat  ;  which  in- 
vigorates all  beings ;  whose  presence  reanimates 
and  rejuvenates  nature  ;  whose  absence  seems  to 
plunge  her  into  sadness  and  languor?  If  some 
being  bestowed  upon  men  power,  activity,  benevo- 
lence, strength,  it  was  no  doubt  the  sun,  which 
should  be  recognized  as  the  father  of  nature,  as  the 
soul  of  the  world,  as  Divinity.  At  least  one  could 
not  without  folly  dispute  his  existence,  or  refuse 
to  recognize  his  influence  and  his  benefits. 

XXV. — A   SPIRITUAL  GOD   IS   INCAPABLE  OF   WILL- 
ING  AND   OF   ACTING. 

The  theologian  tells  us  that  God  does  not  need 
hands  or  arms  to  act,  and  that  He  acts  by  His  will 
alone.  But  what  is  this  God  who  has  a  will  ?  And 
what  can  be  the  subject  of  this  divine  will?  Is  it 
more  ridiculous  or  more  difficult  to  believe  in  fair- 
ies, in  sylphs,  in  ghosts,  in  witches,  in  were-wolfs, 
than  to  believe  in  the  magical  or  impossible  action 
of  the  spirit  upon  the  body  ?  As  soon  as  we  admit 
of  such  a  God,  there  are  no  longer  fables  or  visions 
which  can  not  be  believed.  The  theologians  treat 
men  like  children,  who  never  cavil  about  the  possi- 
bilities of  the  tales  which  they  listen  to. 


58  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Me  slier. 

XXVI. — WHAT  IS  GOD  ? 
To  unsettle  the  existence  of  a  God,  it  is  only 
necessary  to  ask  a  theologian  to  speak  of  Him  ;  as 
soon  as  he  utters  one  word  about  Him,  the  least  re- 
flection makes  us  discover  at  once  that  what  he 
says  is  incompatible  with  the  essence  which  he  at- 
tributes to  his  God.  Therefore,  what  is  God  ?  It 
is  an  abstract  word,  coined  to  designate  the  hidden 
forces  of  nature  ;  or,  it  is  a  mathematical  point, 
which  has  neither  length,  breadth,  nor  thickness. 
A  philosopher*  has  very  ingeniously  said  in  speaking 
of  theologians,  that  they  have  found  the  solution 
to  the  famous  problem  of  Archimedes;  a  point  in 
the  heavens  from  which  they  move  the  world. 

XXVII. — REMARKABLE   CONTRADICTIONS   OF 
THEOLOGY. 

Religion  puts  men  on  their  knees  before  a  be- 
ing without  extension,  and  who,  notwithstanding, 
is  infinite,  and  fills  all  space  with  his  immensity; 
before  an  almighty  being,  who  never  executes  that 
which  he  desires ;  before  a  being  supremely  good, 
and  who  causes  but  displeasure ;  before  a  being,  the 
friend  of  order,  and  in  whose  government  every- 
thing is  in  disorder.  After  all  this,  let  us  conjec- 
ture what  this  God  of  theology  is. 

XXVIII. — TO  ADORE  GOD   IS   TO  ADORE  A  FICTION. 

In  order  to  avoid  all  embarrassment,  they  tell  us 

that  it  is  not  necessary  to  know  what  God  is ;  that 


*  David  Hume. 


The  Infinity  of  God  Justifies  Atheism.         59 

we  must  adore  without  knowing ;  that  it  is  not  per- 
mitted us  to  turn  an  eye  of  temerity  upon  His  a- 
tributes.  But  if  we  must  adore  a  God  without 
knowing  Him,  should  we  not  be  assured  that  He  ex- 
ists ?  Moreover,  how  be  assured  that  He  exists 
without  having  examined  whether  it  is  possible 
that  the  diverse  qualities  claimed  for  Him,  meet  in 
Him?  In  truth,  to  adore  God  is  to  adore  nothing 
but  fictions  of  one's  own  brain,  or  rather,  it  is  to 
adore  nothing. 

XXIX. — THE  INFINITY  OF  GOD  AND  THE  IMPOS- 
SIBILITY OF  KNOWING  THE  DIVINE  ESSENCE, 
OCCASIONS  AND  JUSTIFIES  ATHEISM. 
Without  doubt  the  more  to  perplex  matters, 
theologians  have  chosen  to  say  nothing  about  what 
their  God  is  ;  they  tell  us  what  He  is  not.  By  ne- 
gations and  abstractions  they  imagine  themselves 
composing  a  real  and  perfect  being,  while  there  can 
result  from  it  but  a  being  of  human  reason.  A 
spirit  has  no  body ;  an  infinite  being  is  a  being 
which  is  not  finite ;  a  perfect  being  is  a  being 
which  is  not  imperfect.  Can  any  one  form  any  real 
notions  of  such  a  multitude  of  deficiencies  or  absence 
of  ideas  ?  That  which  excludes  all  idea,  can  it  be 
anything  but  nothingness?  To  pretend  that  the 
divine  attributes  are  beyond  the  understanding  of 
the  human  mind  is  to  render  God  unfit  for  men. 
If  we  are  assured  that  God  is  infinite,  we  admit 
that  there  can  be  nothing  in  common  between  Him 
and  His  creatures.  To  say  that  God  is  infinite,  is  to 
destroy  Him  for  men,  or  at  least  render  Him  use- 
less to  them. 


6o  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

God,  we  are  told,  created  men  intelligent,  but  He 
did  not  create  them  omniscient :  that  is  to  say,  ca- 
pable of  knowing  all  things.  We  conclude  that  He 
was  not  able  to  endow  him  with  intelligence  suffi- 
cient to  understand  the  divine  essence.  In  this 
case  it  is  demonstrated  that  God  has  neither  the 
power  nor  the  wish  to  be  known  by  men.  By  what 
right  could  this  God  become  angry  with  beings 
whose  own  essence  makes  it  impossible  to  have 
any  idea  of  the  divine  essence?  God  would  evi- 
dently be  the  most  unjust  and  the  most  unac- 
countable of  tyrants  if  He  should  punish  an  atheist 
for  not  knowing  that  which  his  nature  made  it  im- 
possible for  him  to  know. 

XXX. — IT  IS  NEITHER  LESS  NOR  MORE  CRIMINAL 
TO  BELIEVE  IN  GOD  THAN  NOT  TO  BELIEVE 
IN   HIM. 

For  the  generality  of  men  nothing  renders  an 
argument  more  convincing  than  fear.  In  conse- 
quence of  this  fact,  theologians  tell  us  that  the 
safest  side  must  be  taken ;  that  nothing  is  more 
criminal  than  incredulity ;  that  God  will  punish 
without  mercy  all  those  who  have  the  temerity  to 
doubt  His  existence  ;  that  His  severity  is  just ;  sine- 
it  is  only  madness  or  perversity  which  questions 
the  existence  of  an  angry  monarch  who  revenges 
himself  cruelly  upon  atheists.  If  we  examine  these 
menaces  calmly,  we  shall  find  that  they  assume 
always  the  thing  in  question.  They  must  com- 
mence by  proving  to  our  satisfaction  the  existence 
of  a  God,  before  telling  us  that  it  is  safer  to  believe. 


Belief  in  God  a  Habitude  of  Childhood.       6l 

and  that  it  is  horrible  to  doubt  or  to  deny  it.  Then 
they  must  prove  that  it  is  possible  for  a  just  God 
to  punish  men  cruelly  for  having  been  in  a  state  of 
madness,  which  prevented  them  from  believing  in 
the  existence  of  a  being  whom  their  enlightened 
reason  could  not  comprehend.  In  a  word,  they 
must  prove  that  a  God  that  is  said  to  be  full  of 
equity,  could  punish  beyond  measure  the  invincible 
and  necessary  ignorance  of  man,  caused  by  his  re- 
lation to  the  divine  essence.  Is  not  the  theologians' 
manner  of  reasoning  very  singular?  They  create 
phantoms,  they  fill  them  with  contradictions,  and 
finally  assure  us  that  the  safest  way  is  not  to  doubt 
the  existence  of  those  phantoms,  which  they  have 
themselves  invented.  By  following  out  this  meth- 
od, there  is  no  absurdity  which  it  would  not  be 
safer  to  believe  than  not  to  believe. 

All  children  are  atheists — they  have  no  idea  of 
God ;  are  they,  then,  criminal  on  account  of  this 
ignorance?  At  what  age  do  they  begin  to  be 
obliged  to  believe  in  God  ?  It  is,  you  say,  at  the 
age  of  reason.  At  what  time  does  this  age  begin  ? 
Besides,  if  the  most  profound  theologians  lose 
themselves  in  the  divine  essence,  which  they  boast 
of  not  comprehending,  what  ideas  can  common 
people  have? — women,  mechanics,  and,  in  short, 
those  who  compose  the  mass  of  the  human  race  ? 

XXXI. — THE    BELIEF   IN    GOD   IS   NOTHING    BUT   A 
MECHANICAL   HABITUDE   OF   CHILDHOOD. 

Men  believe  in  God  only  upon  the  word  of  those 
who  have  no  more  idea  of  Him  than  they  them- 


62  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

selves.  Our  nurses  are  our  first  theologians ;  they 
talk  to  children  of  God  as  they  talk  to  them  of 
vvere-wolfs;  they  teach  them  from  the  most  ten- 
der age  to  join  the  hands  mechanically.  Have  the 
nurses  clearer  notions  of  God  than  the  children, 
whom  they  compel  to  pray  to  Him  ? 

XXXII. — IT  IS  A  PREJUDICE  WHICH  HAS  BEEN 
HANDED  FROM  FATHER  TO  CHILDREN. 
Religion  is  handed  down  from  fathers  to  children 
as  the  property  of  a  family  with  the  burdens.  Very 
few  people  in  the  world  would  have  a  God  if  care 
had  not  been  taken  to  give  them  one.  Each  one 
receives  from  his  parents  and  his  instructors  the 
God  which  they  themselves  have  received  from 
theirs;  only,  according  to  his  own  temperament, 
each  one  arranges,  modifies,  and  paints  Him  agree- 
ably to  his  taste. 

XXXIII. — ORIGIN  OF  PREJUDICES. 
The  brain  of  man  is,  especially  in  infancy,  like  a 
soft  wax,  ready  to  receive  all  the  impressions  we 
wish  to  make  on  it ;  education  furnishes  nearly  all 
his  opinions,  at  a  period  when  he  is  incapable  of 
judging  for  himself.  We  believe  that  the  ideas, 
true  or  false,  which  at  a  tender  age  were  forced 
into  our  heads,  were  received  from  nature  at  our 
birth ;  and  this  persuasion  is  one  of  the  greatest 
sources  of  our  errors. 

XXXIV.— HOW   THEY  TAKE   ROOT  AND   SPREAD. 

Prejudice  tends  to  confirm  in  us  the  opinions  of 
those  who  are  charged  with  our  instruction.     We 


The  Wonders  of  Nature.  63 

Delieve  them  more  skillful  than  we  are ;  we  suppose 
them  thoroughly  convinced  themselves  of  the 
things  they  teach  us.  We  have  the  greatest  confi- 
dence in  them.  After  the  care  they  have  taken  of 
us  when  we  were  unable  to  assist  ourselves,  we 
judge  them  incapable  of  deceiving  us.  These  are 
the  motives  which  make  us  adopt  a  thousand  er- 
rors without  other  foundation  than  the  dangerous 
word  of  those  who  have  educated  us ;  even  the 
being  forbidden  to  reason  upon  what  they  tell  us, 
does  not  diminish  our  confidence,  but  contributes 
often  to  increase  our  respect  for  their  opinions. 

XXXV. — MEN  WOULD  NEVER  HAVE  BELIEVED  IN 
THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  MODERN  THEOLOGY  IF 
THEY  HAD  NOT  BEEN  TAUGHT  AT  AN  AGE 
WHEN  THEY  WERE  INCAPABLE  OF  REASONING. 

The  instructors  of  the  human  race  act  very  pru- 
dently in  teaching  men  their  religious  principles 
before  they  are  able  to  distinguish  the  true  from 
the  false,  or  the  left  hand  from  the  right.  It  would 
be  as  difficult  to  tame  the  spirit  of  a  man  forty 
years  old  with  the  extravagant  notions  which  are 
given  us  of  Divinity,  as  to  banish  these  notions 
from  the  head  of  a  man  who  has  imbibed  them 
since  his  tenderest  infancy. 

XXXVI. — THE    WONDERS      OF     NATURE      DO      NOT 
PROVE   THE   EXISTENCE   OF   GOD. 

We  are  assured  that  the  wonders  of  nature  are 
sufficient  to  a  belief  in  the  existence  of  a  God,  and 
to  convince  us  fully  of  this  important  truth.     But 


64  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

how  many  persons  are  there  in  this  world  who 
have  the  leisure,  the  capacity,  the  necessary  taste, 
to  contemplate  nature  and  to  meditate  upon  its 
progress?  The  majority  of  men  pay  no  attention 
to  it.  A  peasant  is  not  at  all  moved  by  the  beauty 
of  the  sun,  which  he  sees  every  day.  The  sailor  is 
not  surprised  by  the  regular  movements  of  the 
ocean ;  he  will  draw  from  them  no  theological  in- 
ductions. The  phenomena  of  nature  do  not  prove 
the  existence  of  a  God,  except  to  a  few  forewarned 
men,  to  whom  has  been  shown  in  advance  the  fin- 
ger of  God  in  all  the  objects  whose  mechanism 
could  embarrass  them.  The  unprejudiced  philoso- 
pher sees  nothing  in  the  wonders  of  nature  but 
permanent  and  invariable  law ;  nothing  but  the 
necessar>'  effects  of  different  combinations  of  diver- 
sified substance. 

XXXVII. — THE   WONDERS   OF  NATURE   EXPLAIN 

THEMSELVES  BY  NATURAL  CAUSES. 
Is  there  anything  more  surprising  than  the  logic 
of  so  many  profound  doctors,  who,  instead  of  ac- 
knowledging the  little  light  they  have  upon  natural 
agencies,  seek  outside  of  nature — that  is  to  say,  in 
imaginary  regions — an  agent  less  understood  than 
this  nature,  of  which  they  can  at  least  form  some 
idea?  To  say  that  God  is  the  author  of  the  phe- 
nomena that  we  see,  is  it  not  attributing  them  to  an 
occult  cause  ?  What  is  God  ?  What  is  a  spirit  ? 
They  are  causes  of  which  we  have  no  idea.  Sages  ! 
study  nature  and  her  laws ;  and  when  you  can  from 
them  unravel  the  action  of  natural  causes,  do  not 


The  Wonders  of  Nature.  65 

go  in  search  of  supernatural  causes,  which,  very  far 
from  enlightening  your  ideas,  will  but  entangle 
them  more  and  more  and  make  it  impossible  for 
you  to  understand  yourselves. 

XXXVIII. — CONTINUATION. 

Nature,  you  say,  is  totally  inexplicable  without 
a  God ;  that  is  to  say,  in  order  to  explain  what 
you  understand  so  little,  you  need  a  cause  which 
you  do  not  understand  at  all.  You  pretend  to 
make  clear  that  which  is  obscure,  by  magnifying  its 
obscurity.  You  think  you  have  untied  a  knot  by 
multiplying  knots.  Enthusiastic  philosophers,  in 
order  to  prove  to  us  the  existence  of  a  God,  you 
copy  complete  treatises  on  botany ;  you  enter  into 
minute  details  of  the  parts  of  the  human  body  ;  you 
ascend  into  the  air  to  contemplate  the  revolutions 
of  the  stars;  you  return  then  to  earth  to  admire 
the  course  of  the  waters;  you  fly  into  ecstasies 
over  butterflies,  insects,  polyps,  organized  atoms, 
in  which  you  think  to  find  the  greatness  of  your 
God ;  all  these  things  will  not  prove  the  existence 
of  this  God  ;  they  will  only  prove  that  you  have  not 
the  ideas  which  you  should  have  of  the  immense 
variety  of  causes  and  effects  that  can  produce  the 
infinitely  diversified  combinations,  of  which  the 
universe  is  the  assemblage.  This  will  prove  that 
you  ignore  nature,  that  you  have  no  idea  of  her  re- 
sources when  you  judge  her  incapable  of  producing 
a  multitude  of  forms  and  beings,  of  which  your 
eyes,  even  by  the  aid  of  the  microscope,  see  but 
the  least  part ;  finally,  this  will  prove,  that  not  be- 


(id  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

in£^  able  to  know  the  sensible  and  comprehensible 
agents,  you  find  it  easier  to  have  recourse  to  a 
word,  by  which  you  designate  an  agent,  of  whom 
it  will  always  be  impossible  for  you  to  form  any 
true  idea. 

XXXIX. — THE   WORLD   HAS   NOT   BEEN   CREATED, 
AND   MATTER   MOVES   BY   ITSELF. 

They  tell  us  gravely  that  there  is  no  effect 
■rt^ithout  a  cause ;  they  repeat  to  us  very  often  that 
the  world  did  not  create  itself.  But  the  universe  is 
a  cause,  not  an  effect ;  it  is  not  a  work,  has  not 
been  made,  because  it  was  impossible  that  it  should 
be  made.  The  world  has  always  been,  its  existence 
is  necessary.  It  is  the  cause  of  itself  Nature,  whose 
essence  is  visibly  acting  and  producing,  in  order  to 
fulfill  her  functions,  as  we  see  she  does,  needs  no 
invisible  motor  far  more  unknown  than  herself. 
Matter  moves  by  its  own  energy,  by  the  necessary 
result  of  its  heterogeneity ;  the  diversity  of  its 
movements  or  of  its  ways  of  acting,  constitute 
only  the  diversity  of  substances ;  we  distinguish 
one  being  from  another  but  by  the  diversity  of 
the  impressions  or  movements  which  they  com- 
municate to  our  organs. 

XL. — CONTINUATION. 

You  see  that  everything  in  nature  is  in  a  state 
of  activity,  and  you  pretend  that  nature  of  itself  is 
dead  and  without  energy !  You  believe  that  all 
this,  acting  of  itself,  has  need  of  a  motor !  Well ! 
who  Sr  this  motor?     It  is  a  spirit,  that  is  to  say,  an 


Other  Proofs.  6y 

absolutely  incomprehensible  and  contradictory  be- 
ing. Conclude  then,  I  say  to  you,  that  matter  acts 
of  itself,  and  cease  to  reason  about  your  spiritual 
motor,  which  has  nothing  that  is  necessary  to  put 
it  into  motion.  Return  from  your  useless  excur- 
sions ;  come  down  from  an  imaginary  into  a  real 
world ;  take  hold  of  second  causes ;  leave  to  theo- 
logians their  "  First  Cause,"  of  which  nature  has  no 
need  in  order  to  produce  all  the  effects  which  you 
see. 

XLI. — OTHER  PROOFS  THAT  MOTION  IS  IN  THE 
ESSENCE  OF  MATTER,  AND  THAT  IT  IS  NOT 
NECESSARY  TO  SUPPOSE  A  SPIRITUAL  MOTOR. 

It  is  but  by  the  diversity  of  impressions  or  of  ef- 
fects which  substances  or  bodies  make  upon  us, 
that  we  feel  them,  that  we  have  perceptions  and 
ideas  of  them,  that  we  distinguish  them  one  from 
another,  that  we  assign  to  them  peculiarities. 
Moreover,  in  order  to  perceive  or  to  feel  an  ob- 
ject, this  object  must  act  upon  our  organs ;  this 
object  can  not  act  upon  us  without  exciting  some 
motion  in  us;  it  can  not  produce  any  motion  in  us 
if  it  is  not  itself  in  motion.  As  soon  as  I  see  an 
object,  my  eyes  must  be  struck  by  it ;  I  can  not 
conceive  of  light  and  of  vision  without  a  motion  in 
the  luminous,  extended,  and  colored  body  which 
communicates  itself  to  my  eye,  or  which  acts  upon 
my  retina.  As  soon  as  I  smell  a  body,  my  olfac- 
tory nerve  must  be  irritated  or  put  into  motion  by 
the  parts  exhaled  from  an  odorous  body.  As  soon 
as  I  hear  a  sound,  the  tympanum  of  my  ear  must 


68  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

be  struck  by  the  air  put  in  motion  by  a  sonorous 
body,  which  could  not  act  if  it  was  not  moved  of 
itself.     From  which  it  follows,  evidently,  that  with- 
out motion  I  can  neither  feel,  see,  distinguish,  com- 
pare,  nor  judge  the  body,   nor  even  occupy  m}) 
thought  with  any  matter  whatever.     It  is  said  in 
the  schools,  that  the  essence  of  a  being  is  that  from 
which  flow  all  the  properties  of  that  being.     Now 
then,  it  is  evident  that  all  the  properties  of  bodies 
or  of  substances  of  which  we  have  ideas,  are  due 
to  the  motion  which  alone  informs  us  of  their  ex- 
istence, and  gives  us  the  first  conceptions  of  it.     I 
can  not  be  informed  or  assured  of  my  own  exist- 
ence but  by  the  motions  which  I  experience  within 
myself.     I  am  compelled  to  conclude  that  motion 
is  as  essential  to  matter  as  its  extension,  and  that  it 
can  not  be  conceived  of  without  it.     If  one  persists 
in  caviling  about  the  evidences  which  prove  to  us 
that  motion  is  an  essential  property  of  matter,  he 
must  at  least  acknowledge  that  substances  which 
seemed  dead  or  deprived  of  all  energy,  take  motion 
of  themselves  as  soon  as  they  are  brought  within 
the  proper  distance  to  act  upon  each  other.     Py- 
rophorus,  when  enclosed  in  a  bottle  or  deprived  of 
contact  with  the  air,  can  not  take  fire  by  itself,  but 
it  burns  as  soon  as  exposed  to  the  air.     Flour  and 
water  cause  fermentation  as  soon  as  they  are  mixed. 
Thus  dead  substances  engender  motion  of  them- 
selves.    Matter  has  then  the  power  to  move  itself, 
and  nature,  in  order  to  act,  does  not  need  a  motof 
whose  essence  would  hinder  its  activity. 


Man  s  Existence  Does  Not  Prove  God's.       69 

XLII. — THE  EXISTENCE  OF  MAN  DOES  NOT  PROVE 

THAT   OF   GOD. 

Whence  comes  man  ?  What  is  his  origin  ?  Is  he 
the  result  of  the  fortuitous  meeting  of  atoms? 
Was  the  first  man  formed  of  the  dust  of  the 
earth?  I  do  not  know!  Man  appears  to  me  to  be 
a  production  of  nature  like  all  others  she  embraces. 
I  should  be  just  as  much  embarrassed  to  tell 
you  whence  came  the  first  stones,  the  first  trees, 
the  first  elephants,  the  first  ants,  the  first  acorns, 
as  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  human  species. 
Recognize,  we  are  told,  the  hand  of  God,  of  an 
infinitely  intelligent  and  powerful  workman,  in  a 
work  so  wonderful  as  the  human  machine.  I 
would  admit  without  question  that  the  human 
machine  appears  to  me  surprising ;  but  since  man 
exists  in  nature,  I  do  not  believe  it  right  to  say 
that  his  formation  is  beyond  the  forces  of  nature. 
I  will  add,  that  I  could  conceive  far  less  of  the  for- 
mation of  the  human  machine,  when  to  explain  it 
to  me  they  tell  me  that  a  pure  spirit,  who  has 
neither  eyes,  nor  feet,  nor  hands,  nor  head,  nor 
lungs,  nor  mouth,  n©r  breath,  has  made  man  by  tak- 
ing a  little  dust  and  blowing  upon  it.  The  savage 
inhabitants  of  Paraguay  pretend  to  be  descended 
from  the  moon,  and  appear  to  us  as  simpletons ; 
the  theologians  of  Europe  pretend  to  be  descended 
from  a  pure  spirit.    Is  this  pretension  more  sensible  ? 

Man  is  intelligent,  hence  it  is  concluded  that  he 
must  be  the  work  of  an  intelligent  being,  and  not 
of  a  nature  devoid  of  intelligence.  Although  noth- 
ing is  more  rare  than  to  see  man  use  this  intelli- 


70  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

gence,  of  which  he  appears  so  proud,  I  will  admit 
that  he  is  intelligent,  that  his  necessities  develop  in 
him  this  faculty,  that  the  society  of  other  men  con- 
tributes especially  to  cultivate  it.  But  in  the  hu- 
man machine  and  in  the  intelligence  with  which  it 
is  endowed,  I  see  nothing  that  shows  in  a  precise 
manner  the  infinite  intelligence  of  the  workman  who 
has  the  honor  of  making  it.  I  see  that  this  admir- 
able machine  is  subject  to  derangement ;  that  at  that 
time  this  wonderful  intelligence  is  disordered,  and 
sometimes  totally  disappears ;  from  this  I  conclude 
that  human  intelligence  depends  upon  a  certain 
disposition  of  the  material  organs  of  the  body,  and 
that,  because  man  is  an  intelligent  being,  it  is  not 
well  to  conclude  that  God  must  be  an  intelligent 
being,  any  more  than  because  man  is  material,  we 
are  compelled  to  conclude  that  God  is  material. 
The  intelligence  of  man  no  more  proves  the  intel- 
ligence of  God  than  the  malice  of  men  proves 
the  malice  of  this  God,  of  whom  they  pretend 
that  man  is  the  work.  In  whatever  way  theology 
is  taken,  God  will  always  be  a  cause  contradicted 
by  its  effects,  or  of  whom  it  is  impossible  to  judge 
by  His  works.  We  shall  always  see  evil,  imperfec- 
tions, and  follies  resulting  from  a  cause  claimed  to 
be  full  of  goodness,  of  perfections,  and  of  wisdom. 

XLIII. — HOWEVER,   NEITHER   MAN    NOR    THE   UNI- 
VERSE  IS   THE   EFFECT   OF   CHANCE. 

Then  you  will  say  that  intelligent  man  and  even 
the  universe  and  all  it  encloses,  are  the  effects  of 
chance.     No,  I  answer,  the  universe  is  not  an  ef- 


Man  nor  the  Universe  the  Effect  of  Chance.     7 1 

feet ;  it  is  the  cause  of  all  effects ;  all  the  beings  it 
embraces  are  the  necessary  effects  of  this  cause 
which  sometimes  shows  to  us  its  manner  of  acting, 
Dut  which  often  hides  from  us  its  way.  Men  may 
use  the  word  "  chance  "  to  cover  their  ignorance  of 
the  true  causes;  nevertheless,  although  they  may 
ignore  them,  these  causes  act  but  by  certain  laws. 
There  is  no  effect  without  a  cause. 

Nature  is  a  word  which  we  make  use  of  to  desig- 
nate the  immense  assemblage  of  beings,  diverse 
substances,  infinite  combinations,  and  all  the  va- 
rious motions  which  we  see.  All  bodies,  whether 
organized  or  not  organized,  are  the  necessary  re- 
sults of  certain  causes,  made  to  produce  necessarily 
the  effects  which  we  see.  Nothing  in  nature  can 
be  made  by  chance ;  all  follow  fixed  laws  ;  these 
laws  are  but  the  necessary  union  of  certain  effects 
with  their  causes.  An  atom  of  matter  does  not 
meet  another  atom  by  accident  or  by  hazard  ;  this 
rencounter  is  due  to  permanent  laws,  which  cause 
each  being  to  act  by  necessity  as  it  does,  and  can 
not  act  otherwise  under  the  same  circumstances. 
To  speak  about  the  accidental  coming  together  of 
atoms,  or  to  attribute  any  effects  to  chance,  is  to 
say  nothing,  if  not  to  ignore  the  laws  by  which 
bodies  act,  meet,  combine,  or  separate. 

Everything  is  made  by  chance  for  those  who  do 
not  understand  nature,  the  properties  of  beings, 
and  the  effects  which  must  necessarily  result  from 
the  concurrence  of  certain  causes.  It  is  not  chance 
that  has  placed  the  sun  in  the  center  of  our  planetary 
system ;  it  is  by  its  very  essence,  the  substance  of 


72  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

which  it  is  composed,  that  it  occupies  this  place, 
and  from  thence  diffuses  itself  to  invigorate  the 
beings  who  live  in  these  planets. 

XLIV. — NEITHER    DOES   THE    ORDER   OF  THE   UNI- 
VERSE  PROVE   THE   EXISTENCE   OF  A   GOD. 

The  worshipers  of  a  God  find,  especially  in  the 
order  of  the  universe,  an  invincible  proof  of  the  ex- 
istence of  an  intelligent  and  wise  being  who  rules 
it.  But  this  order  is  only  a  result  of  motions 
necessarily  brought  on  by  causes  or  by  circum- 
stances which  are  sometimes  favorable  and  some- 
times injurious  to  ourselves;  we  approve  the  for- 
mer and  find  fault  with  the  latter. 

Nature  follows  constantly  the  same  progress ; 
that  is  to  say,  the  same  causes  produce  the  same 
effects,  as  long  as  their  action  is  not  interrupted  by 
other  causes  which  occasion  the  first  ones  to  pro 
duce  different  effects.  When  the  causes,  whose  ef- 
fects we  feel,  are  interrupted  in  their  action  by 
causes  which,  although  unknown  to  us,  are  no  less 
natural  and  necessary,  we  are  stupefied,  we  cry  out 
miracles ;  and  we  attribute  them  to  a  cause  far  less 
known  than  all  those  we  see  operating  before  ub. 
The  universe  is  always  in  order;  there  can  be  no 
disorder  for  it.  Our  organization  alone  is  suffenng 
if  we  complain  about  disorder.  Bodies,  causes,  be- 
ings, v/hich  this  world  embraces,  act  necessarily  in 
the  manner  in  which  we  see  them  act,  whether  we 
approve  or  disapprove  their  action.  Earthquakes, 
volcanoes,  inundations,  contagions,  and  famines  are 
effects  as  necessary  in  the  order  of  nature  as  the 


The  Order  of  the  Universe.  73 

fall  of  heavy  bod^Vs,  as  the  course  of  rivers,  as  the 
periodical  movements  of  the  seas,  the  blowing  of 
the  winds,  the  abundant  rains,  and  the  favorable 
effects  for  which  we  praise  and  thank  Providence 
for  its  blessings. 

To  be  astonished  that  a  certain  order  reigns  in 
the  world,  is  to  be  surprised  to  see  the  same  causes 
constantly  producing  the  same  effects.  To  be 
shocked  at  seeing  disorder,  is  to  forget  that  rha 
causes  being  changed  or  disturbed  in  their  action, 
the  effects  can  no  longer  be  the  same.  To  be  as- 
tonished to  see  order  in  nature,  is  to  be  astonished 
that  anything  can  exist ;  it  is  to  be  surprised  at 
one's  own  existence.  What  is  order  for  one  being, 
is  disorder  for  another.  All  wicked  beings  find 
that  everything  is  in  order  when  they  can  with  im- 
punity put  everything^into  disorder ;  they  find,  on 
the  contrary,  that  everything  is  in  disorder  when 
the)  are  prevented  from  exercising  their  wickedness. 

XLV. — CONTINUATION. 

Supposing  God  to  be  the  author  and  the  motor 
of  nature,  there  could  be  no  disorder  relating  to 
Him ;    all    causes    which    He   would    have    made 
would  necessarily  act  according  to  their  properties 
the  essences  and  the  impulsions  that  He  had  en- 
dowed them  with.     If  God  should  change  the  ordi- 
nary course  of  things.  He  would  not  be  immutable 
If  the  order  of  the  universe — in  which  we  believe 
we  see  the  most  convincing  proof  of  His  existence, 
of  His  intelligence.  His  power,  and  His  goodness — 
should   be    inconsistent,  His   existence   might    be 


74  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier, 

doubted ;  or  He  might  be  accused  at  least  of  in- 
constancy, of  inability,  of  want  of  foresight,  and 
of  wisdom  in  the  first  arrangement  of  things ;  we 
would  have  a  right  to  accuse  Him  of  blundering  in 
His  choice  of  agents  and  instruments.  Finally, 
if  the  order  of  nature  proves  the  power  and  the 
intelligence,  disorder  ought  to  prove  the  weakness, 
inconstancy,  and  irrationality  of  Divinity.  You  say 
that  God  is  everywhere ;  that  He  fills  all  space ; 
that  nothing  was  made  without  Him ;  that  matter 
could  not  act  without  Him  as  its  motor.  But  in 
this  case  you  admit  that  your  God  is  the  author  of 
disorder ;  that  it  is  He  who  deranges  nature ;  that 
He  is  the  Father  of  confusion  ;  that  He  is  in  man  ; 
and  that  He  moves  man  at  the  moment  when  he 
sins.  If  God  is  everywhere.  He  is  in  me ;  He  acts 
with  me ;  He  is  deceived  when  I  am  deceived ; 
He  questions  with  me  the  existence  of  God  ;  He 
offends  God  with  me.  Oh,  theologians  !  you  never 
understand  yourselves  when  you  speak  of  God. 

XLVI. — A  PURE  SPIRIT  CAN  NOT  BE  INTELLIGENT, 
AND  TO  ADORE  A  DIVINE  INTELLIGENCE  IS 
A   CHIMERA. 

To  be  what  we  call  intelligent,  we  must  have 
ideas,  thoughts,  will ;  to  have  ideas,  thoughts,  and 
will,  we  must  have  organs  ;  to  have  organs,  we  must 
have  a  body ;  to  act  upon  bodies,  we  must  have  a 
body ;  to  experience  trouble,  we  must  be  capable 
of  suffering ;  from  which  it  evidently  follows  that  a 
pure  spirit  can  not  be  intelligent,  and  can  not  be 
affected  by  that  which  takes  place  in  the  universe. 


Theology  Contrary  to  the  Essence  of  God.     75 

Divine  intelligence,  divine  ideas,  divine  views,  you 
say,  have  nothing  in  common  with  those  of  men. 
So  much  the  better!  But  in  this  case,  how  can 
men  judge  of  these  views — whether  good  or  evil — 
reason  about  these  ideas,  or  admire  this  intelli- 
gence? It  would  be  to  judge,  to  admire,  to  adore 
that  of  which  we  can  form  no  idea.  To  adore  the 
profound  views  of  divine  wisdom,  is  it  not  to  wor- 
ship that  of  which  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  judge? 
To  admire  these  same  views,  is  it  not  admiring 
without  knowing  why  ?  Admiration  is  always  the 
daughter  of  ignorance.  Men  admire  and  worship 
only  what  they  do  not  understand. 

XLVII. — ALL  THE  QUALITIES  WHICH  THEOLOGY 
GIVES  TO  ITS  GOD  ARE  CONTRARY  TO  THE 
VERY  ESSENCE  WHICH  IT  SUPPOSES  HIM  TO 
HAVE. 

All  these  qualities  which  are  given  to  God  are 
not  suited  to  a  being  who,  by  His  own  essence,  is 
devoid  of  all  similarity  to  human  beings.  It  is 
true,  they  think  to  find  this  similarity  by  exagger- 
ating the  human  qualities  with  which  they  have 
clothed  Divinity;  they  thrust  them  upon  the  infi- 
nite, and  from  that  moment  cease  to  understand 
themselves.  What  is  the  result  of  this  combination 
of  man  with  God,  or  of  this  theanthropy  ?  Its  only 
result  is  a  chimera,  of  which  nothing  can  be  affirmed 
without  causing  the  phantom  to  vanish  which  they 
had  taken  so  much  trouble  to  conjure  up. 

Dante,  in  his  poem  of  Paradise,  relates  that  the 
Divinity  appeared  to  him  under  the  figure  of  three 


76  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

circles,  which  formed  an  iris,  whose  bright  colors 
arose  from  each  other ;  but  having  wished  to  retain 
its  brilliant  light,  the  poet  saw  only  his  own  face. 
In  worshiping  God,  man  adores  himself. 

XLVIII. — CONTINUATION. 

The  slightest  reflection  suffices  to  prove  to  us 
that  God  can  not  have  any  of  the  human  qualities, 
virtues,  or  perfections.  Our  virtues  and  our  per- 
fections are  the  results  of  our  temperament  modi- 
fied. Has  God  a  temperament  like  ours?  Our 
good  qualities  are  our  habits  relative  to  the  beings 
in  whose  society  we  live.  God,  according  to  you, 
is  a  solitary  being.  God  has  no  one  like  Him  ;  He 
does  not  live  in  society ;  He  has  no  need  of  any 
one ;  He  enjoys  a  happiness  which  nothing  can 
alter.  Admit,  then,  upon  your  own  principles,  that 
God  can  not  possess  what  we  call  virtues,  and  that 
man  can  not  be  virtuous  in  regard  to  Him. 

XLIX.— IT  IS  ABSURD  TO  SAY  THAT  THE  HUMAN 
RACE  IS  THE  OBJECT  AND  THE  END  OF  CRE- 
ATION. 

Man,  charmed  with  his  own  merits,  imagines  that 
it  is  but  his  own  kind  that  God  proposed  as  the 
object  and  the  end  in  the  formation  of  the  universe 
Upon  what  is  this  so  flattering  opinion  based  ?  It 
is,  we  are  told,  upon  this :  that  man  is  the  only 
being  endowed  with  an  intelligence  which  enables 
him  to  know  the  Divine  nature,  and  to  render  to 
it  homage  worthy  of  it.  We  are  assured  that  God 
created  the  world  for  His  own  glory,  and  that  the 


God  is  not  Made  for  Man,  nor  Mcui  for  God.    JJ 

human  race  was  included  in  His  plan,  in  order  that 
He  might  have  somebody  to  admire  and  glorify 
Him  in  His  works.  But  by  these  intentions  has 
not  God  visibly  missed  His  end  ? 

1.  According  to  you,  it  would  always  be  impos- 
sible for  man  to  know  his  God,  and  he  would  be 
kept  in  the  most  invincible  ignorance  of  the  Divine 
essence. 

2.  A  being  who  has  no  equals,  can  not  be  sus- 
ceptible of  glory.  Glory  can  result  but  from  the 
comparison  of  his  own  excellence  with  that  of 
others. 

3.  If  God  by  Himself  is  infinitely  happy  and  is 
sufficient  unto  Himself,  why  does  He  need  the 
homage  of  His  feeble  creatures? 

4.  In  spite  of  all  His  works,  God  is  not  glorified  ; 
on  the  contrary,  all  the  religions  of  the  world  show 
Him  to  us  as  perpetually  offended  ;  their  great  ob- 
ject is  to  reconcile  sinful,  ungrateful,  and  rebellious 
man  with  his  wrathful  God. 

L. — GOD  IS  NOT  MADE  FOR  MAN,  NOR  MAN  FOR 

GOD. 

If  God  is  infinite.  He  is  created  still  less  for  man, 
than  man  is  for  the  ants.  Would  the  ants  of  a  gar- 
den reason  pertinently  with  reference  to  the  gar- 
dener, if  they  should  attempt  to  occupy  themselves 
with  his  intentions,  his  desires,  and  his  projects? 
Would  they  reason  correctly  if  they  pretended  that 
the  park  of  Versailles  was  made  but  for  them,  and 
that  a  fastidious  monarch  had  had  as  his  only  object 
to  lodge  them  superbly?     But  according  to  theoU 


78  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

ogy,  man  in  his  relation  to  God  is  far  beneath  what 
the  lowest  insect  is  to  man.  Thus  by  the  ac- 
knowledgment of  theology  itself,  theology,  which 
does  but  occupy  itself  with  the  attributes  and  views 
of  Divinity,  is  the  most  complete  of  follies. 

LI. — IT  IS  NOT  TRUE  THAT  THE  OBJECT  OF  THE 
FORMATION  OF  THE  UNIVERSE  WAS  TO  REN- 
DER  MEN   HAPPY. 

It  is  pretended,  that  in  forming  the  universe, 
God  had  no  object  but  to  render  man  happy.  But, 
in  a  world  created  expressly  for  him  and  governed 
by  an  all-mighty  God,  is  man  after  all  very  happy? 
Are  his  enjoyments  durable?  Are  not  his  pleas- 
ures mingled  with  sufferings  ?  Are  there  many 
people  who  are  contented  with  their  fate?  Is  not 
mankind  the  continual  victim  of  physical  and  moral 
evils?  This  human  machine,  which  is  shown  to  us 
as  the  masterpiece  of  the  Creator's  industry,  has  it 
not  a  thousand  ways  of  deranging  itself?  Would 
we  admire  the  skill  of  a  mechanic,  who  should 
show  us  a  complicated  machine,  liable  to  be  out  of 
order  at  any  moment,  and  which  would  after  a 
while  destroy  itself? 

LII. — WHAT    IS    CALLED    PROVIDENCE    IS    BUT    A 
WORD  VOID   OF  SENSE. 

We  call  Providence  the  generous  care  which  Di- 
vinity shows  in  providing  for  our  needs,  and  in 
watching  over  the  happiness  of  its  beloved  creat- 
ures. But,  as  soon  as  we  look  around,  we  find 
that  God  provides  for  nothing.     Providence  neg- 


Providence  a   Word  Void  of  Sense.  yg 

lects  the  greatest  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  this 
world.  Against  a  very  small  number  of  men,  who 
are  supposed  to  be  happy,  what  a  multitude  of 
miserable  ones  are  groaning  beneath  oppression, 
and  languishing  in  misery!  Whole  nations  are 
compelled  to  starve  in  order  to  indulge  the  ex- 
travagances of  a  few  morose  tyrants,  who  are  no 
happier  than  the  slaves  whom  they  oppress !  At 
the  same  time  that  our  philosophers  energetically 
parade  the  bounties  of  Providence,  and  exhort  us 
to  place  confidence  in  it,  do  we  not  see  them  cry 
out  at  unforeseen  catastrophes,  by  which  Provi- 
dence plays  with  the  vain  projects  of  men ;  do  we 
not  see  that  it  overthrows  their  designs,  laughs  at 
their  efforts,  and  that  its  profound  wisdom  pleases 
itself  in  misleading  mortals?  But  how  can  we  place 
confidence  in  a  malicious  Providence  which  laughs 
at  and  sports  with  mankind  ?  How  can  I  admire 
the  unknown  course  of  a  hidden  wisdom  whose 
manner  of  acting  is  inexplicable  to  me?  Judge  it 
by  its  effects !  you  will  say ;  it  is  by  these  I  do 
judge  it,  and  I  find  that  these  effects  are  sometimes 
useful  and  sometimes  injurious  to  me. 

We  think  to  justify  Providence  by  saying,  that 
in  this  world  there  are  more  blessings  than  evil  for 
each  individual  man.  Let  us  suppose  that  the 
blessings  which  this  Providence  makes  us  enjoy 
are  as  one  hundred,  and  that  the  evils  are  as  ten 
per  cent. ;  would  it  not  always  result  that  against 
these  hundred  degrees  of  goodness,  Providence 
possesses  a  tenth  degree  of  malignity? — which  13 
incompatible  with  the  perfection  we  suppose  it  to 
have. 


8o  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

All  the  books  are  filled  with  the  most  flattering 
praises  of  Providence,  whose  attentive  care  is  ex- 
tolled ;  it  would  seem  to  us,  as  if  in  order  to  live 
happy  here  below,  man  would  have  no  need  of  ex- 
erting himself.  However,  without  labor,  man  could 
scarcely  live  a  day.  In  order  to  live,  I  see  him 
obliged  to  sweat,  work,  hunt,  fish,  toil  without  re- 
laxation ;  without  these  secondary  causes,  the  First 
Cause  (at  least  in  the  majority  of  countries)  could 
provide  for  none  of  his  needs.  If  I  examine  all 
parts  of  this  globe,  I  see  the  uncivilized  as  well  as 
the  civilized  man  in  a  perpetual  struggle  with 
Providence ;  he  is  compelled  to  ward  off  the  blows 
which  it  sends  in  the  form  of  hurricanes,  tempests, 
frost,  hail,  inundations,  sterility,  and  the  divers 
accidents  which  so  often  render  all  their  labors 
useless.  In  a  word,  I  see  the  human  race  contin- 
ually occupied  in  protecting  itself  from  the  wicked 
tricks  of  this  Providence,  which  is  said  to  be  busy 
with  the  care  of  their  happiness.  A  devotee  ad- 
mired Divine  Providence  for  having  wisely  made 
rivers  to  flow  through  all  the  places  where  men 
had  built  large  cities.  Is  not  this  man's  way  of 
reasoning  as  sensible  as  that  of  many  learned  men 
who  do  not  cease  from  telling  us  of  Final  Causes,  or 
who  pretend  to  perceive  clearly  the  benevolent 
views  of  God  in  the  formation  of  things  ? 

LIII. — THIS  PRETENDED  PROVIDENCE  IS  LESS  0& 
CUPIED  IN  CONSERVING  THAN  IN  DISTURB, 
ING  THE  WORLD— MORE  AN  ENEMY  THAN  A 
FRIEND   OF   MAN. 

Do  we  see,  then,  that  Divine  Providence  mani- 


Providence  More  an  Enemy  than  a  Friend.       8 1 

fests  itself  in  a  sensible  manner  in  the  conservation 
of  its  admirable  works,  for  which  we  honor  it?  If 
it  is  Divine  Providence  which  governs  the  world, 
we  find  it  as  much  occupied  in  destroying  as  in 
creating;  in  exterminating  as  in  producing.  Does 
it  not  at  every  instant  cause  thousands  of  those 
same  men  to  perish,  to  whose  preservation  and 
well-being  it  is  supposed  to  give  its  continual  atten- 
tion ?  Every  moment  it  loses  sight  of  its  beloved 
creatures  ;  sometimes  it  tears  down  their  dwellings  ; 
sometimes  it  destroys  their  harvests,  inundates 
their  fields,  devastates  by  a  drouth,  arms  all  nature 
against  man,  sets  man  against  man,  and  finishes  by 
causing  him  to  expire  in  pain.  Is  this  what  you 
call  preserving  a  universe  ?  If  we  attempted  to 
consider  without  prejudice  the  equivocal  conduct  of 
Providence  relative  to  mankind  and  to  all  sentient 
beings,  we  should  find  that  very  far  from  resem- 
bling a  tender  and  careful  mother,  it  rather  resem- 
bles those  unnatural  mothers  who,  forgetting  the 
unfortunate  fruits  of  their  illicit  amours,  abandon 
their  children  as  soon  as  they  are  born ;  and  who, 
pleased  to  have  conceived  them,  expose  them  with- 
out mercy  to  the  caprices  of  fate. 

The  Hottentots — wiser  in  this  particular  than 
other  nations,  who  treat  them  as  barbarians — refuse, 
it  is  said,  to  adore  God,  because  if  He  sometimes 
does  good,  He  as  often  does  harm.  Is  not  this 
reasoning  more  just  and  more  conformed  to  expe- 
rience than  that  of  so  many  men  who  persist  in 
seeing  in  their  God  but  kindness,  wisdom,  and  fore- 
sight ;  and  who   refuse  to  see   that  the  countless 


82  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

evils,  of  which  the  world  is  the  theater,  must 
come  from  the  same  Hand  which  they  kiss  with 
transport  ? 

LIV. — NO  !   THE   WORLD   IS   NOT  GOVERNED   BY  AN 
INTELLIGENT   BEING. 

The  logic  of  common  sense  teaches  us  that  we 
should  judge  a  cause  but  by  its  effects.  A  cause 
can  not  be  reputed  as  constantly  good,  except  when 
it  constantly  produces  good,  useful,  and  agreeable 
effects.  A  cause  which  produces  good  at  one  time, 
and  evil  at  another,  is  a  cause  which  is  sometimes 
good  and  sometimes  bad.  But  the  logic  of  Theol- 
ogy destroys  all  this.  According  to  it,  the  phenom- 
ena of  nature,  or  the  effects  which  we  see  in  this 
world,  prove  to  us  the  existence  of  an  infinitely 
good  Cause,  and  this  Cause  is  God.  Although  this 
world  is  full  of  evils,  although  disorder  reigns  here 
very  often,  although  men  groan  every  moment 
under  the  fate  which  oppresses  them,  we  ought  to 
be  convinced  that  these  effects  are  due  to  a  benev- 
olent and  immutable  Cause ;  and  many  people  be- 
lieve it,  or  pretend  to  believe  it ! 

Everything  which  takes  place  in  the  world  proves 
to  us  in  the  clearest  way  that  it  is  not  governed 
by  an  intelligent  being.  We  can  judge  of  the  in- 
telligence of  a  being  but  by  the  means  which  he 
employs  to  accomplish  his  proposed  design.  The 
aim  of  God,  it  is  said,  is  the  happiness  of  our  race ; 
however,  the  same  necessity  regulates  the  fate  of 
all  sentient  beings — which  are  born  to  suffer  much, 
to  enjoy  little,  and  to  die.    Man's  cup  is  full  of  joy 


God  cannot  he  called  Immutable.  ?>i 

and  of  bitterness  ;  everywhere  good  is  side  by  side 
with  evil;  order  is  replaced  by  disorder;  genera- 
tion is  followed  by  destruction.  If  you  tell  me  that 
the  designs  of  God  are  mysteries,  and  that  His 
views  are  impossible  to  understand,  I  will  answer, 
that  in  this  case  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  judge 
whether  God  is  intelligent. 

LV. — GOD   CAN   NOT   BE   CALLED   IMMUTABLE. 

You  pretend  that  God  is  immutable !  But  what 
is  it  that  occasions  the  continual  instability  in  this 
world,  which  you  claim  as  His  empire?  Is  any 
state  subject  to  more  frequent  and  cruel  revolutions 
than  that  of  this  unknown  monarch  ?  How  can  we 
attribute  to  an  immutable  God,  powerful  enough 
to  give  solidity  to  His  works,  the  government  of  a 
world  where  everything  is  in  a  continual  vicissi- 
tude? If  I  think  to  see  a  God  unchanging  in  all 
the  effects  advantageous  to  my  kind,  what  God  can 
I  discover  in  the  continual  misfortunes  by  which 
my  kind  is  oppressed  ?  You  tell  me  that  it  is  our 
sins  that  force  Him  to  punish  us.  I  will  answer 
that  God,  according  to  yourselves,  is  not  immuta- 
ble, because  the  sins  of  men  compel  Him  to  change 
His  conduct  in  regard  to  them.  Can  a  being  who 
is  sometimes  irritated,  and  sometimes  appeased,  be 
constantly  the  same  ? 

LVL— EVIL  AND  GOOD  ARE  THE  NECESSARY  EF- 
FECTS OF  NATURAL  CAUSES.  WHAT  IS  A  GOD 
WHO   CAN   CHANGE   NOTHING? 

The  universe  is  but  what  it  can  be ;  all  sentient 


84  Common  Sense,  by  Jeari  Meslier. 

beings  enjoy  and  suffer  here :  that  is  to  say,  they 
are  moved  sometimes  in  an  agreeable,  and  at  other 
times  in  a  disagreeable  way.  These  effects  are 
necessary ;  they  result  from  causes  that  act  accord- 
ing to  their  inherent  tendencies.  These  effects 
necessarily  please  or  displease  me,  according  to  my 
own  nature.  This  same  nature  compels  me  to 
avoid,  to  remove,  and  to  combat  the  one,  and  to 
seek,  to  desire,  and  to  procure  the  other.  In  a 
world  where  everything  is  from  necessity,  a  God 
who  remedies  nothing,  and  allows  things  to  follow 
their  own  course,  is  He  anything  else  but  destiny 
or  necessity  personified  ?  It  is  a  deaf  God  who  can 
effect  no  change  on  the  general  laws  to  which  He 
is  subjected  Himself.  What  do  I  care  for  the  infi- 
nite power  of  a  being  who  can  do  but  a  very  few 
things  to  please  me  ?  Where  is  the  infinite  kind- 
ness of  a  being  who  is  indifferent  to  my  happiness? 
What  good  to  me  is  the  favor  of  a  being  who,  able 
to  bestow  upon  me  infinite  good,  does  not  even 
give  me  a  finite  one? 

LVII. — THE  VANITY  OF  THEOLOGICAL  CONSOLA- 
TIONS IN  THE  TROUBLES  OF  THIS  LIFE. 
THE  HOPE  OF  A  HEAVEN,  OF  A  FUTURE 
LIFE,   IS   BUT   IMAGINARY. 

When  we  ask  why,  under  a  good  God,  so  many 
are  wretched,  we  are  reminded  that  the  present 
world  is  but  a  pass-way,  designed  to  conduct  man 
to  a  happier  sphere ;  we  are  assured  that  our  so- 
journ on  the  earth,  where  we  live,  is  for  trial  ;  they 
silence  us  by  saying  that  God  would  not  impart  to 


Vanity  of  Theological  Consolations.  85 

His  creatures  either  the  indifference  to  the  suffer- 
ings of  others,  or  the  infinite  happiness  which  He 
reserved  for  Himself  alone.  How  can  we  be  satis- 
fied with  these  answers  ? 

1.  The  existence  of  another  life  has  no  other 
guaranty  than  the  imagination  of  men,  who,  in 
supposing  it,  have  but  manifested  their  desire  to 
live  again,  in  order  to  enter  upon  a  purer  and  more 
durable  state  of  happiness  than  that  which  they 
enjoy  at  present. 

2.  How  can  we  conceive  of  a  God  who,  knowing 
all  things,  must  know  to  their  depths  the  nature 
of  His  creatures,  and  yet  must  have  so  many 
proofs  in  order  to  assure  Himself  of  their  proclivi- 
ties ? 

3.  According  to  the  calculations  of  our  chronol- 
ogists,  the  earth  which  we  inhabit  has  existed  for 
six  or  seven  thousand  years  ;  during  this  time  the 
nations  have,  under  different  forms,  experienced 
many  vicissitudes  and  calamities ;  history  shows 
us  that  the  human  race  in  all  ages  has  been  tor- 
mented and  devastated  by  tyrants,  conquerors,  he- 
roes ;  by  wars,  inundations,  famines,  epidemics,  etc. 
Is  this  long  catalogue  of  proofs  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  inspire  us  with  great  confidence  in  the  hidden 
views  of  the  Divinity  ?  Do  such  constant  evils  give 
us  an  exalted  idea  of  the  future  fate  which  His 
kindness  is  preparing  for  us  ? 

4.  If  God  is  as  well-disposed  as  they  assure  us 
He  is,  could  He  not  at  least,  without  bestowing  an 
infinite  happiness  upon  men,  communicate  to  them 
that  degree  of  happiness  of  which  finite  beings  are 


86  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

susceptible  ?     In  order  to  be  happy,  do  we  need  an 
Infinite  or  Divine  happiness? 

5.  If  God  has  not  been  able  to  render  men  hap- 
pier than  they  are  here  belo  .\ ,  what  will  become  of 
the  hope  of  a  Paradise,  where  it  is  pretended  that 
the  elect  or  chosen  few  will  rejoice  forever  in  ineffable 
happiness?  If  God  could  not  or  would  not  remove 
evil  from  the  earth  (the  only  sojourning  place  we 
know  of),  what  reason  could  we  have  to  presume 
that  He  can  or  will  remove  it  from  another  world, 
of  which  we  know  nothing  ?  More  than  two  thou- 
sand years  ago,  according  to  Lactance,  the  wise 
epicure  said :  "  Either  God  wants  to  prevent  evil, 
and  can  not,  or  He  can  and  will  not ;  or  He 
neither  can  nor  will,  or  He  will  and  can.  If  He 
wants  to,  without  the  power,  He  is  impotent ;  if 
He  can,  and  will  not.  He  is  guilty  of  malice  which 
we  can  not  attribute  to  Him  ;  if  He  neither  can  nor 
will,  He  is  both  impotent  and  wicked,  and  conse- 
quently can  not  be  God  ;  if  He  wishes  to  and  can, 
whence  then  comes  evil,  or  why  does  He  not  pre- 
vent it  ?  "  For  more  than  two  thousand  years  hon- 
est minds  have  waited  for  a  rational  solution  of 
these  difficulties  ;  and  our  theologians  teach  us  that 
they  will  not  be  revealed  to  us  until  the  future  life. 

LVIII.— ANOTHER   IDLE   FANCY. 

We  are  told  of  a  pretended  scale  for  human  be- 
ings ;  it  is  supposed  that  God  has  divided  His  creat- 
ures into  different  classes,  each  one  enjoying  the 
degree  of  happiness  of  which  he  is  susceptible. 
According  to  this  romantic  arrangement,  all  beings, 


God  is  More   Wicked  than  Good.  87 

from  the  oyster  to  the  angel,  enjoy  the  happiness 
which  belongs  to  them.  Experience  contradicts 
this  sublime  revery.  In  the  world  where  we  are, 
we  see  all  sentient  beings  living  and  suffering  in 
the  midst  of  dangers.  Man  can  not  step  without 
wounding,  tormenting,  crushing  a  multitude  of 
sentient  beings  which  he  finds  in  his  path,  while  he 
himself,  at  every  step,  is  exposed  to  a  throng  of 
evils  seen  or  unseen,  which  may  lead  to  his  de- 
struction. Is  not  the  very  thought  of  death  suffi- 
cient to  mar  his  greatest  enjoyment  ?  During  the 
whole  course  of  his  life  he  is  subject  to  sufferings  ; 
there  is  not  a  moment  when  he  feels  sure  of  preserv- 
ing his  existence,  to  which  he  is  so  strongly  at- 
tached, and  which  he  regards  as  the  greatest  gift 
of  Divinity. 

LIX. — IN  VAIN  DOES  THEOLOGY  EXERT  ITSELF 
TO  ACQUIT  GOD  OF  MAN'S  DEFECTS.  EITHER 
THIS  GOD  IS  NOT  FREE,  OR  HE  IS  MORE 
WICKED   THAN   GOOD. 

The  world,  it  will  be  said,  has  all  the  perfection 
of  which  it  was  susceptible ;  by  the  very  reason 
that  the  world  was  not  the  God  who  made  it,  it 
was  necessary  that  it  should  have  great  qualities 
and  great  defects.  But  we  will  answer,  that  the  world 
necessarily  having  great  defects,  it  would  have  been 
better  suited  to  the  nature  of  a  good  God  not  to 
create  a  world  which  He  could  not  render  com- 
pletely happy.  If  God,  who  was,  according  to 
you,  supremely  happy  before  the  world  was  cre- 
ated, had  continued  to  be  supremely  happy  in  the 


88  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

created  world,  why  did  He  not  remain  in  peace? 
Why  must  man  suffer  ?  Why  must  man  exist  ? 
What  is  his  existence  to  God  ?  Nothing  or  some- 
thing. If  his  existence  is  not  useful  or  necessary  to 
God,  why  did  He  not  leave  him  in  nothingness? 
If  man's  existence  is  necessary  to  His  glory.  He 
then  needed  man,  He  lacked  something  before  this 
man  existed ! 

We  can  forgive  an  unskillful  workman  for  doing 
imperfect  work,  because  he  must  work,  well  or  ill, 
or  starve  ;  this  workman  is  excusable  ;  but  your  God 
is  not.  According  to  you,  He  is  self-sufficient ;  in 
this  case,  why  does  He  create  men?  He  has,  ac- 
cording to  you,  all  that  is  necessary  to  render  man 
happy  ;  why,  then,  does  He  not  do  it  ?  You  must 
conclude  that  your  God  has  more  malice  than 
goodness,  or  you  must  admit  that  God  was  com- 
pelled to  do  what  He  has  done,  without  being  able 
to  do  otherwise.  However,  you  assure  us  that  your 
God  is  free  ;  you  say  also  that  He  is  immutable,  al- 
though beginning  in  time  and  ceasing  in  time  to 
exercise  His  power,  like  all  the  inconstant  beings 
of  this  world.  Oh,  theologians !  you  have  made 
vain  efforts  to  acquit  your  God  of  all  the  defects  of 
man  ;  there  is  always  visible  in  this  God  so  perfect, 
*'  tf  tip  of  the  \jiuman\  ear'' 

LX.— WE  CAN  NOT  BELIEVE  IN  A  DIVINE  PROVI, 
DENCE,  IN  AN  INFINITELY  GOOD  AND  POW- 
ERFUL  GOD. 

Is  not  God  the  master  of  His  favors?     Has  He 
not  the  right  to  dispense   His  benefits?    Can  He 


We  can  not  Believe  in  Providence.  89 

not  take  them  back  again?  His  creature  has  no 
right  to  ask  the  reason  of  His  conduct ;  He  can  dis- 
pose at  will  of  the  works  of  His  hands.  Absolute 
sovereign  of  mortals,  He  distributes  happiness  or 
unhappiness,  according  to  His  pleasure.  These  are 
the  solutions  which  theologians  give  in  order  to 
console  us  for  the  evils  which  God  inflicts  upon  us. 
We  would  tell  them  that  a  God  who  was  infinitely- 
good,  would  not  be  the  master  of  His  favors,  but 
would  be  by  His  own  nature  obliged  to  distribute 
them  among  His  creatures ;  we  would  tell  them 
that  a  truly  benevolent  being  would  not  believe  he 
had  the  right  to  abstain  from  doing  good;  we 
would  tell  them  that  a  truly  generous  being  does 
not  take  back  what  he  has  given,  and  any  man  who 
does  it,  forfeits  gratitude,  and  has  no  right  to  com- 
plain of  ingratitude.  How  can  the  arbitrary  and 
whimsical  conduct  which  theologians  ascribe  to 
God,  be  reconciled  with  the  religion  which  sup- 
poses a  compact  or  mutual  agreement  between  this 
God  and  men  ?  If  God  owes  nothing  to  His  creat- 
ures, they,  on  their  part,  can  not  owe  anything  to 
their  God.  All  religion  is  founded  upon  the  hap- 
piness which  men  believe  they  have  a  right  to  ex- 
pect from  the  Divinity,  who  is  supposed  to  tell 
them :  "  Love,  adore,  obey  me,  and  I  will  render 
you  happy ! "  Men  on  their  side  say  to  Him  : 
"  Make  us  happy,  be  faithful  to  your  promises,  and 
we  will  love  you,  we  will  adore  you,  we  will  obey 
your  laws!"  In  neglecting  the  happiness  of  His 
creatures,  in  distributing  His  favors  and  His  graces 
according  to  His  caprice,  and  taking  back  His  gifts, 


QO  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

does  not  God  violate  the  contract  which  serves  as  a 
base  for  all  religion  ? 

Cicero  has  said  with  reason  that  if  God  does  not 
make  Himself  agreeable  to  man,  He  can  not  be  his 
God.*  Goodness  constitutes  Divinity  ;  this  Good- 
ness can  manifest  itself  to  man  only  by  the  advan- 
tages he  derives  from  it.  As  soon  as  he  is  unfortu- 
nate, this  Goodness  disappears  and  ceases  to  be 
Divinity.  An  infinite  Goodness  can  be  neither  par- 
tial nor  exclusive.  If  God  is  infinitely  good,  He 
owes  happiness  to  all  His  creatures ;  one  unfortu- 
nate being  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  annihilate 
an  unlimited  goodness.  Under  an  infinitely  good 
and  powerful  God,  is  it  possible  to  conceive  that 
a  single  man  could  suffer?  An  animal,  a  mite, 
which  suffers,  furnishes  invincible  arguments  against 
Divine  Providence  and  its  infinite  benefactions. 

LXI. — CONTINUATION. 

According  to  theologians,  the  afflictions  and 
evils  of  this  life  are  chastisements  which  culpable 
men  receive  from  Divinity.  But  why  are  men  cul- 
pable? If  God  is  Almighty,  does  it  cost  Him  any 
more  to  say,  "  Let  everything  remain  in  order !  " — 
let  all  my  subjects  be  good,  innocent,  fortunate ! — 
than  to  say,  "  Let  everything  exist  ?  "  Was  it  more 
difficult  for  this  God  to  do  His  work  well  than  to 
do  it  so  badly  ?  Was  it  any  farther  from  the  non- 
existence of  beings  to  their  wise  and  happy  exist- 
ence, than  from  their  non-existence  to  their  insen- 


*  Nisi  Deus  homini  placuerit,  Deus  non  erit. 


Theology  makes  God  a  Monster.  91 

sate  and  miserable  existence  ?  Religion  speaks  to 
us  of  a  hell — that  is,  of  a  fearful  place  where,  not- 
withstanding His  goodness,  God  reserves  eternal 
torments  for  the  majority  of  men.  Thus,  after  hav- 
ing rendered  mortals  very  miserable  in  this  world, 
religion  teaches  them  that  God  can  make  them 
much  more  wretched  in  another.  They  meet  our 
objections  by  saying,  that  otherwise  the  goodness 
of  God  would  take  the  place  of  His  justice.  But 
goodness  which  takes  the  place  of  the  most  terrible 
cruelty,  is  not  infinite  kindness.  Besides,  a  God 
who,  after  having  been  infinitely  good,  becomes  in- 
finitely wicked,  can  He  be  regarded  as  an  immuta- 
ble being?  A  God  filled  with  implacable  fury,  is 
He  a  God  in  whom  we  can  find  a  shadow  of  charity 
or  goodness? 

LXII. — THEOLOGY  MAKES  OF  ITS  GOD  A  MONSTER 
OF  NONSENSE,  OF  INJUSTICE,  OF  MALICE,  AND 
ATROCITY — A   BEING    ABSOLUTELY    HATEFUL. 

Divine  justice,  such  as  our  theologians  paint  it, 
is,  without  doubt,  a  quality  intended  to  make  us 
love  Divinity.  According  to  the  notions  of  modern 
theology,  it  appears  evident  that  God  has  created 
the  majority  of  men  with  the  view  only  of  punish- 
ing them  eternally.  Would  it  not  have  been  more 
in  conformity  with  kindness,  with  reason,  with 
equity,  to  create  but  stones  or  plants,  and  not  sen- 
tient beings,  than  to  create  men  whose  conduct  in 
this  world  would  cause  them  eternal  chastisements 
in  another?  A  God  so  perfidious  and  wicked  as  to 
create  a  single  man  and  leave  him  exposed  to  the 


92  Common  Sense,  by  yca7i  Meslier. 

perils  of  damnation,  can  not  be  regarded  as  a  per- 
fect being,  but  as  a  monster  of  nonsense,  injustice, 
malice,  and  atrocity.  Far  from  forming  a  perfect 
God,  the  theologians  have  made  the  most  imperfect 
of  beings.  According  to  theological  ideas,  God 
resembles  a  tyrant  who,  having  deprived  the  major 
ity  of  his  slaves  of  their  eyesight,  would  confine 
them  in  a  cell  where,  in  order  to  amuse  himself 
he  could  observe  incognito  their  conduct  through 
a  trap-door,  in  order  to  have  occasion  to  cruelly 
punish  all  those  who  in  walking  should  hurt  each 
other;  but  who  would  reward  splendidly  the  small 
number  of  those  to  whom  the  sight  was  spared,  for 
having  the  skill  to  avoid  an  encounter  with  their 
comrades.  Such  are  the  ideas  which  the  dogma  of 
gratuitous  predestination  gives  of  Divinity  ! 

Although  men  repeat  to  us  that  their  God  is  in- 
finitely good,  it  is  evident  that  in  the  bottom  of 
their  hearts  they  can  believe  nothing  of  it.  How 
can  we  love  anything  we  do  not  know?  How  can 
we  love  a  being,  the  idea  of  whom  is  but  liable  to 
keep  us  in  anxiety  and  trouble?  How  can  we  love 
a  being  of  whom  all  that  is  told  conspires  to  render 
him  supremely  hateful  ? 

LXIII. — ALL   RELIGION   INSPIRES   BUT    A    COWARD- 
LY  AND   INORDINATE   FEAR   OF  THE   DIVINITY. 

Many  people  make  a  subtle  distinction  between 
true  religion  and  superstition  ;  they  tell  us  that  the 
latter  is  but  a  cowardly  and  inordinate  fear  of  Di- 
vinity, that  the  truly  religious  man  has  confidence 
in  his  God,  and  loves  Him  sincerely  :  while  the  su- 


To  Love  God  is  Impossible.  93 

perstitious  man  sees  in  Him  but  an  enemy,  has  no 
confidence  in  Him,  and  represents  Him  as  a  suspi- 
cious and  cruel  tyrant,  avaricious  of  His  benefac- 
tions and  prodigal  of  His  chastisements.  But  does 
not  all  religion  in  reality  give  us  these  same  ideas 
of  God  ?  While  we  are  told  that  God  is  infinitely 
good,  is  it  not  constantly  repeated  to  us  that  He  is 
very  easily  offended,  that  He  bestows  His  favors 
but  upon  a  few,  that  He  chastises  with  fury  those 
to  whom  He  has  not  been  pleased  to  grant  them  ? 

LXIV. — THERE  IS  IN  REALITY  NO  DIFFERENCE 
BETWEEN  RELIGION  AND  THE  MOST  SOMBRE 
AND  SERVILE  SUPERSTITION. 
If  we  take  our  ideas  of  God  from  the  nature  of 
the  things  where  we  find  a  mixture  of  good  and  evil, 
this  God,  according  to  the  good  and  evil  which  we 
experience,  does  naturally  appear  to  us  capricious, 
inconstant,  sometimes  good,  sometimes  wicked,  and 
in  this  way,  instead  of  exciting  our  love,  He  must 
produce  suspicion,  fear,  and  uncertainty  in  our 
hearts.  There  is  no  real  difference  between  natu- 
ral religion  and  the  most  sombre  and  servile  super- 
stition. If  the  Theist  sees  God  but  on  the  beautiful 
side,  the  superstitious  man  looks  upon  Him  from 
the  most  hideous  side.  The  folly  of  the  one  is  gay 
of  the  other  is  lugubrious;  but  both  are  equally 
delirious. 

LXV. — ACCORDING  TO  THE  IDEAS  WHICH  THEOI^ 
OGY  GIVES  OF  DIVINITY,  TO  LOVE  GOD  IS 
IMPOSSIBLE. 

If  I  take  my  ideas  of  God  from  theology,  God 


94  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

shows  Himself  to  me  in  such  a  light  as  to  repel 
love.  The  devotees  who  tell  us  that  they  love  their 
God  sincerely,  are  either  liars  or  fools  who  see  their 
God  but  in  profile ;  it  is  impossible  to  love  a  being, 
the  thought  of  whom  tends  to  excite  terror,  and 
whose  judgments  make  us  tremble.  How  can  we 
face  without  fear,  a  God  whom  we  suppose  suffi- 
ciently barbarous  to  wish  to  damn  us  forever? 
Let  them  not  speak  to  us  of  a  filial  or  respectful 
fear  mingled  with  love,  which  men  should  have  for 
their  God.  A  son  can  not  love  his  father  when  he 
knows  he  is  cruel  enough  to  inflict  exquisite  tor- 
ments upon  him  ;  in  short,  to  punish  him  for  the 
least  faults.  No  man  upon  earth  can  have  the 
least  spark  of  love  for  a  God  who  holds  in  reserve 
eternal,  hard,  and  violent  chastisements  for  ninety- 
nine  hundredths  of  His  children. 

LXVI. — BY  THE  INVENTION  OF  THE  DOGMA  OF  THE 
ETERNAL  TORMENTS  OF  HELL,  THEOLOGIANS 
HAVE  MADE  OF  THEIR  GOD  A  DETESTABLE 
BEING,  MORE  WICKED  THAN  THE  MOST  WICK- 
ED OF  MEN,  A  PERVERSE  AND  CRUEL  TYRANT 
WITHOUT  AIM. 

The  inventors  of  the  dogma  of  eternal  torments  in 
hell,  have  made  of  the  God  whom  they  call  so  good, 
the  most  detestable  of  beings.  Cruelty  in  man  is  the 
last  term  of  corruption.  There  is  no  sensitive  soul 
but  is  moved  and  revolts  at  the  recital  alone  of  the 
torments  which  the  greatest  criminal  endures ;  but 
cruelty  merits  the  greater  indignation  when  we 
consider   it   gratuitous   or   without   motive.      The 


God  made  More   Wicked  than  Men.  95 

most  sanguinary  tyrants,  Caligula,  Nero,  Domitian, 
had  at  least  some  motive  in  tormenting  their  vic- 
tims and  insulting  their  sufferings ;  these  motives 
were,  either  their  own  safety,  the  fury  of  revenge, 
the  design  to  frighten  by  terrible  examples,  or  per- 
haps the  vanity  to  make  parade  of  their  power,  and 
the  desire  to  satisfy  a  barbarous  curiosity.  Can  a 
God  have  any  of  these  motives?  In  tormenting 
the  victims  of  His  wrath.  He  would  punish  beings 
who  could  not  really  endanger  His  immovable 
power,  nor  trouble  His  felicity,  which  nothing  can 
change.  On  the  other  hand,  the  sufferings  of  the 
other  life  would  be  useless  to  the  living,  who  can 
not  witness  them  ;  these  torments  would  be  useless 
to  the  damned,  because  in  hell  is  no  more  conver- 
sion, and  the  hour  of  mercy  is  passed  ;  from  which 
it  follows,  that  God,  in  the  exercise  of  His  eternal 
vengeance,  would  have  no  other  aim  than  to 
amuse  Himself  and  insult  the  weakness  of  His 
creatures.  I  appeal  to  the  whole  human  race !  Is 
there  in  nature  a  man  so  cruel  as  to  wish  in  cold 
blood  to  torment,  I  do  not  say  his  fellow-beings,  but 
any  sentient  being  whatever,  without  fee,  without 
profit,  without  curiosity,  without  having  anything  to 
fear?  Conclude,  then,  O  theologians  !  that  acord- 
ing  to  your  own  principles,  your  God  is  infinitely 
more  wicked  than  the  most  wicked  of  men.  You 
will  tell  me,  perhaps,  that  infinite  offenses  deserve 
infinite  chastisements,  and  I  will  tell  you  that  we 
can  not  offend  a  God  whose  happiness  is  infinite. 
I  will  tell  you  further,  that  offenses  of  finite  beings 
can  not  be  infinite ;  that  a  God  who  does  not  want 


g6  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

to  be  offended,  can  not  consent  to  make  His  creat- 
ures' offenses  last  for  eternity ;  I  will  tell  you  that 
a  God  infinitely  good,  can  not  be  infinitely  cruel, 
nor  grant  His  creatures  infinite  existence  solely  for 
the  pleasure  of  tormenting  them  forever. 

It  could  have  been  but  the  most  cruel  barbarity, 
the  most  notorious  imposition,  but  the  blindest  am- 
bition which  could  have  created  the  dogma  of  eter- 
nal damnation.  If  there  exists  a  God  who  could 
be  offended  or  blasphemed,  there  would  not  be  upon 
earth  any  greater  blasphemers  than  those  who  dare 
to  say  that  this  God  is  perverse  enough  to  take 
pleasure  in  dooming  His  feeble  creatures  to  useless 
torments  for  all  eternity. 

LXVII. — THEOLOGY  IS  BUT  A  SERIES  OF  PALPABLE 
CONTRADICTIONS. 

To  pretend  that  God  can  be  offended  with  the 
actions  of  men,  is  to  annihilate  all  the  ideas  that 
are  given  to  us  of  this  being.  To  say  that  man 
can  disturb  the  order  of  the  universe,  that  he  can 
grasp  the  lightning  from  God's  hand,  that  he  can 
upset  His  projects,  is  to  claim  that  man  is  stronger 
than  his  God,  that  he  is  the  arbiter  of  His  will, 
that  it  depends  on  him  to  change  His  goodness  in- 
to cruelty.  Theology  does  nothing  but  destroy 
with  one  hand  that  which  it  builds  with  the  other. 
If  all  religion  is  founded  upon  a  God  who  becomes 
angry,  and  who  is  appeased,  all  religion  is  founded 
upon  a  palpable  contradiction. 

All  religions  agree  in  exalting  the  wisdom  and 
the  infinite  power  of  the  Divinity ;    but  as  soon  as 


The  Pretended  Works  of  God.  97 

they  expose  His  conduct,  we  discover  but  impru- 
dence, want  of  foresight,  weakness,  and  folly.  God, 
it  is  said,  created  the  world  for  Himself;  and  so  far 
He  has  not  succeeded  in  making  Himself  properly 
respected !  God  has  created  men  in  order  to  have 
in  His  dominion  subjects  who  would  render  Him 
homage  ;  and  we  continually  see  men  revolt  against 
Him! 


LXVIII. — THE  PRETENDED  WORKS  OF  GOD  DO  NOT 
PROVE  AT  ALL  WHAT  WE  CALL  DIVINE  PER- 
FECTION. 

We  are  continually  told  of  the  Divine  perfec- 
tions ;  and  as  soon  as  we  ask  the  proofs  of  them,  we 
are  shown  the  works  in  which  we  are  assured  that 
these  perfections  are  written  in  ineffaceable  charac- 
ters. All  these  works,  however,  are  imperfect  and 
perishable ;  man,  who  is  regarded  as  the  master- 
piece, as  the  most  marvelous  work  of  Divinity,  is 
full  of  imperfections  which  render  him  disagreeable 
in  the  eyes  of  the  Almighty  workman  who  has 
formed  him ;  this  surprising  work  becomes  often 
so  revolting  and  so  odious  to  its  Author,  that  He  feels 
Himself  compelled  to  cast  him  into  the  fire.  But  if 
the  choicest  work  of  Divinity  is  imperfect,  by  what 
are  we  to  judge  of  the  Divine  perfections?  Can  a 
work  with  which  the  author  himself  is  so  little  sat- 
isfied, cause  us  to  adnrwre  his  skill  ?  Physical  man 
is  subject  to  a  thousand  infirmities,  to  countless 
evils,  to  death  ;  the  moral  man  is  full  of  defects ; 
and  yet  they  exhaust  themselves  by  telling  us  that 


98  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

he  is  the  most  beautiful  work  of  the  most  perfect 
of  beings. 

LXIX. — THE  PERFECTION  OF  GOD  DOES  NOT  SHOW 
TO  ANY  MORE  ADVANTAGE  IN  THE  PRETENDED 
CREATION   OF   ANGELS   AND   PURE   SPIRITS. 

It  appears  that  God,  in  creating  more  perfect  be- 
ings than  men,  did  not  succeed  any  better,  or  give 
stronger  proofs  of  His  perfection.  Do  we  not  see 
in  many  religions  that  angels  and  pure  spirits  re- 
volted against  their  Master,  and  even  attempted  to 
expel  Him  from  His  throne  ?  God  intended  the 
happiness  of  angels  and  of  men,  and  He  has  never 
succeeded  in  rendering  happy  either  angels  or  men  ; 
pride,  malice,  sins,  the  imperfections  of  His  creat- 
ures, have  always  been  opposed  to  the  wishes  of 
the  perfect  Creator. 

LXX. — THEOLOGY  PREACHES  THE  OMNIPOTENCE 
OF  ITS  GOD,  AND  CONTINUALLY  SHOWS  HIM 
IMPOTENT. 

All  religion  is  visibly  founded  upon  the  principle 
that  "  God  proposes  and  man  disposes."  All  the 
theologies  of  the  world  show  us  an  unequal  combat 
between  Divinity  on  the  one  side,  and  His  creat- 
ures on  the  other.  God  never  relies  on  His  honor ; 
in  spite  of  His  almighty  power,  He  could  not  suc- 
ceed in  making  the  works  of  His  hands  as  He  would 
like  them  to  be.  To  complete  the  absurdity,  there 
is  a  religion  which  pretends  that  God  Himself  died 
to  redeem  the  human  race ;  and,  in  spite  of  His 


God  the  Most  Insensate  of  Beings.  99 

death,  men  are  not  in  the  least  as  this  God  would 
desire  them  to  be ! 

LXXI. — ACCORDING  TO  ALL  THE  RELIGIOUS  SYS- 
TEMS OF  THE  EARTH,  GOD  WOULD  BE  THE 
MOST  CAPRICIOUS  AND  THE  MOST  INSENSATE 
OF  BEINGS. 

Nothing  could  be  more  extravagant  than  the 
role  which  in  every  country  theology  makes  Divin- 
ity play.  If  the  thing  was  real,  we  would  be 
obliged  to  see  in  it  the  most  capricious  and  the 
most  insane  of  beings ;  one  would  be  obliged  to 
believe  that  God  made  the  world  to  be  the  theater 
of  dishonoring  wars  with  His  creatures ;  that  He 
created  angels,  men,  demons,  wicked  spirits,  but  as 
adversaries,  against  whom  He  could  exercise  His 
power.  He  gives  them  liberty  to  offend  Him, 
makes  them  wicked  enough  to  upset  His  projects, 
obstinate  enough  to  never  give  up :  all  for  the 
pleasure  of  getting  angry,  and  being  appeased,  of 
reconciling  Himself,  and  of  repairing  the  confusion 
they  have  made.  Had  Divinity  formed  at  once 
His  creatures  such  as  they  ought  to  be  in  order  to 
please  Him,  what  trouble  He  might  have  spared 
Himself!  or,  at  least,  how  much  embarrassment 
He  might  have  saved  to  His  theologians !  Ac- 
cording to  all  the  religious  systems  of  the  earth, 
God  seems  to  be  occupied  but  in  doing  Himself 
injury ;  He  does  it  as  those  charlatans  do  who 
wound  themselves,  in  order  to  have  occasion  to 
show  the  public  the  value  of  their  ointments.  We 
do  not  see,  however,  that  so  far  Divinity  has  been 


fOO  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

able  to  radically  cure  itself  of  the  evil  which  is 
caused  by  men. 

LXXII. — IT   IS   ABSURD   TO    SAY   THAT   EVIL  DOES 
NOT   COME   FROM    GOD. 

God  is  the  author  of  all  ;  still  we  are  assured 
that  evil  does  not  come  from  God.  Whence,  then, 
does  it  come  ?  From  men  ?  But  who  has  made 
men  ?  It  is  God  :  then  that  evil  comes  from  God. 
If  He  had  not  made  men  as  they  are,  moral  evil 
or  sin  would  not  exist  in  the  world.  We  must 
blame  God,  then,  that  man  is  so  perverse.  If  man 
has  the  power  to  do  wrong  or  to  offend  God,  we 
must  conclude  that  God  wishes  to  be  offended  ; 
that  God,  who  has  created  man,  resolved  that  evil 
should  be  done  by  him  :  without  this,  man  would 
be  an  effect  contrary  to  the  cause  from  which  he 
derives  his  being. 

LXXIII. — THE  FORESIGHT  ATTRIBUTED  TO  GOD, 
WOULD  GIVE  TO  GUILTY  MEN  WHOM  HE 
PUNISHES,  THE  RIGHT  TO  COMPLAIN  OF  HIS 
CRUELTY. 

The  faculty  of  foresight,  or  the  ability  to  know 
in  advance  all  which  is  to  happen  in  the  world;  is 
attributed  to  God.  But  this  foresight  can  scarcely 
belong  to  His  glory,  nor  spare  Him  the  reproaches 
which  men  could  legitimately  heap  upon  Him.  If 
God  had  the  foresight  of  tlie  future,  did  He  not 
foresee  the  fall  of  His  creatures  whom  He  had 
destined  to  happiness  ?  If  He  resolved  in  His 
decrees  to  allow  this  fall,  there  is  no  doubt  that 


Absurdity  of  Theological  Fables.  loi 

He  desired  it  to  take  place  :  otherwise  it  would  not 
have  happened.  If  the  Divine  foresight  of  the  sin 
of  His  creatures  had  been  necessary  or  forced,  it 
might  be  supposed  that  God  was  compelled  by  His 
justice  to  punish  the  guilty  ;  but  God,  enjoying 
the  faculty  of  foresight  and  the  power  to  predesti- 
nate everything,  would  it  not  depend  upon  Him- 
self not  to  impose  upon  men  these  cruel  laws  ? 
Or,  at  least,  could  He  not  have  dispensed  with  cre- 
ating beings  whom  He  might  be  compelled  to  pun- 
ish and  to  render  unhappy  by  a  subsequent  decree? 
What  does  it  matter  whether  God  destined  men  to 
happiness  or  to  misery  by  a  previous  decree,  the 
effect  of  His  foresight,  or  by  a  subsequent  decree, 
the  effect  of  His  justice.  Does  the  arrangement 
of  these  decrees  change  the  fate  of  the  miserable  ? 
Would  they  not  have  the  right  to  complain  of  a 
God  who,  having  the  power  of  leaving  them  in 
oblivion,  brought  them  forth,  although  He  foresaw 
very  well  that  His  justice  would  force  Him  sooner 
or  later  to  punish  them  ? 

LXXIV.— ABSURDITY    OF    THE    THEOLOGICAL    FA- 
BLES  UPON    ORIGINAL   SIN   AND   UPON   SATAN. 

Man,  say  you,  issuing  from  the  hands  of  God, 
was  pure,  innocent,  and  good  ;  but  his  nature  be- 
came corrupted  in  consequence  of  sin.  If  man 
could  sin,  when  just  leaving  the  hands  of  God,  his 
nature  was  then  not  perfect !  Why  did  God  per- 
mit him  to  sin,  and  his  nature  to  become  corrupt  ? 
Why  did  God  allow  him  to  be  seduced,  knowing 
well  that  he  would  be  too  weak  to  resist  the  tempt- 


I02  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Me  slier. 

er?  Why  did  God  create  a  Satan,  a  malicious 
spirit,  a  tempter  ?  Why  did  not  God,  who  was  so 
desirous  of  doing  good  to  mankind,  why  did  He  not 
annihilate,  once  for  all,  so  many  evil  genii  whose 
nature  rendered  them  enemies  of  our  happiness  ? 
Or  rather,  why  did  God  create  eval  spirits,  whose 
victories  and  terrible  influences  upon  the  human 
race  He  must  have  foreseen  ?  Finally,  by  what 
fatality,  in  all  the  religions  of  the  world,  has  the 
evil  principle  such  a  marked  advantage  over  the 
good  principle  or  over  Divinity  ? 

LXXV. — THE      DEVIL,     LIKE      RELIGION,    WAS     IN- 
VENTED  TO   ENRICH   THE   PRIESTS. 

We  are  told  a  story  of  the  simple-heartedness  of 
an  Italian  monk,  which  does  him  honor.  This  good 
man  preaching  one  day  felt  obliged  to  announce  to 
his  auditory  that,  thanks  to  Heaven,  he  had  at  last 
discovered  a  sure  means  of  rendering  all  men  happy. 
"  The  devil,"  said  he,  "  tempts  men  but  to  have 
them  as  comrades  of  his  miser\-  in  hell.  Let  us 
address  ourselves,  then,  to  the  Pope,  who  possesses 
the  keys  of  paradise  and  of  hell ;  let  us  ask  him  to 
beseech  God,  at  the  head  of  the  whole  Church,  to 
reconcile  Himself  with  the  devil;  to  take  him  back 
into  His  favor;  to  re-establish  him  in  His  first  rank. 
This  can  not  fail  to  put  an  end  to  his  sinister  proj- 
ects against  mankind."  The  good  monk  did  not 
see,  perhaps,  that  the  devil  is  at  least  fully  as  useful 
as  God  to  the  ministers  of  religion.  These  reap  too 
many  benefits  from  their  differences  to  lend  them- 
selves willingly  to  a  reconciliation  between  the  two 


God  has  no  Right  to  Punish  Man.  103 

enemies,  upon  whose  contests  their  existence  and 
their  revenues  depend.  If  men  would  cease  to  be 
tempted  and  to  sin,  the  ministry  of  priests  would 
become  useless  to  them.  Manicheism  is  evidently 
the  support  of  all  religions ;  but  unfortunately  the 
devil,  being  invented  to  remove  all  suspicion  of 
malice  from  Divinity,  proves  to  us  at  every  mo- 
ment the  powerlessness  or  the  awkwardness  of  his 
celestial  Adversary. 

LXXVI. — IF  GOD  COULD  NOT  RENDER  HUMAN  NAT- 
URE  SINLESS,  HE   HAS   NO   RIGHT  TO   PUNISH 

MAN. 

Man's  nature,  it  is  said,  must  necessarily  become 
corrupt.  God  could  not  endow  him  with  sinless- 
ness,  which  is  an  inalienable  portion  of  Divine  per- 
fection. But  if  God  could  not  render  him  sinless, 
why  did  He  take  the  trouble  of  creating  man,  whose 
nature  was  to  become  corrupt,  and  which,  conse- 
quently, had  to  offend  God  ?  On  the  other  side,  if 
God  Himself  was  not  able  to  render  human  nature 
sinless,  what  right  had  He  to  punish  men  for  not 
being  sinless?  It  is  but  by  the  right  of  might.  But 
the  right  of  the  strongest  is  violence ;  and  violence 
is  not  suited  to  the  most  Just  of  Beings.  God  would 
be  supremely  unjust  if  He  punished  men  for  not 
having  a  portion  of  the  Divine  perfections,  or  for 
not  being  able  to  be  Gods  like  Himself. 

Could  not  God  have  at  least  endowed  men  with 
that  sort  of  perfection  of  which  their  nature  is  sus- 
ceptible ?  If  some  men  are  good  or  render  them- 
selves agreeable  to  their  God,  why  did   not   this 


104  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

God  bestow  the  same  favor  or  give  the  same  dispo- 
sitions to  all  beings  of  our  kind  ?  Why  does  the 
number  of  wicked  exceed  so  greatly  the  number  of 
good  people?  Why,  for  every  friend,  does  God 
find  ten  thousand  enemies  in  a  world  which  de- 
pended upon  Him  alone  to  people  with  honest 
men  ?  If  it  is  true  that  God  intends  to  form  in 
heaven  a  court  of  saints,  of  chosen  ones,  or  of  men 
who  have  lived  in  this  world  according  to  His  views, 
would  He  not  have  had  a  court  more  numerous, 
more  brilliant,  and  more  honorable  to  Him,  if  it 
were  composed  of  all  the  men  to  whom,  in  creating 
them.  He  could  have  granted  the  degree  of  good- 
ness necessary  to  obtain  eternal  happiness  ?  Finally, 
were  it  not  easier  not  to  take  man  from  nothing- 
ness than  to  create  him  full  of  defects,  rebellious 
to  his  Creator,  perpetually  exposed  to  lose  himself 
by  a  fatal  abuse  of  his  liberty  ?  Instead  of  creating 
men,  a  perfect  God  ought  to  have  created  only  do- 
cile and  submissive  angels.  The  angels,  it  is  said, 
are  free ;  a  few  among  them  have  sinned ;  but  all 
of  them  have  not  sinned  ;  all  have  not  abused  their 
liberty  by  revolting  against  their  Master.  Could 
not  God  have  created  only  angels  of  the  good  kind  ? 
If  God  could  create  angels  who  have  not  sinned, 
could  He  not  create  men  sinless,  or  those  who 
would  never  abuse  their  liberty  by  doing  evil.  If 
the  chosen  ones  are  incapable  of  sinning  in  heaven, 
could  not  God  have  made  sinless  men  upon  the 
earth? 


The  Mystery  of  God's  Conduct.  105 

LXXVII. — IT  IS  ABSURD  TO  SAY  THAT  GOD'S  CON- 
DUCT MUST  BE  A  MYSTERY  TO  MAN,  AND 
THAT  HE  HAS  NO  RIGHT  TO  EXAMINE  AND 
JUDGE   IT. 

We  are  told  that  the  enormous  distance  which 
separates  God  from  men,  makes  God's  conduct 
necessarily  a  mystery  for  us,  and  that  we  have  no 
right  to  interrogate  our  Master.  Is  this  statement 
satisfactory  ?  But  according  to  you,  when  my  eter- 
nal happiness  is  involved,  have  I  not  the  right  to 
examine  God's  own  conduct  ?  It  is  but  with  the 
hope  of  happiness  that  men  submit  to  the  empire 
of  a  God.  A  despot  to  whom  men  are  subjected 
but  through  fear,  a  master  whom  they  can  not  in- 
terrogate, a  totally  inaccessible  sovereign,  can  not 
merit  the  homage  of  intelligent  beings.  If  God's 
conduct  is  a  mystery  to  me,  it  is  not  made  for  me. 
Man  can  not  adore,  admire,  respect,  or  imitate  a 
conduct  of  which  everything  is  impossible  to  con- 
ceive, or  of  which  he  can  not  form  any  but  revolt- 
ing ideas ;  unless  it  is  pretended  that  he  should 
worship  all  the  things  of  which  he  is  forced  to  be 
ignorant,  and  then  all  that  he  does  not  understand 
becomes  admirable. 

Priests  !  you  teach  us  that  the  designs  of  God 
are  impenetrable  ;  that  His  ways  are  not  our  ways  ; 
that  His  thoughts  are  not  our  thoughts  ;  that  it  is 
folly  to  complain  of  His  administration,  whose  mo- 
tives and  secret  ways  are  entirely  unknown  to  us  ; 
that  there  is  temerity  in  accusing  Him  of  unjust 
judgments,  because  they  are  incomprehensible  to 
us.     But  do  you  not  see  that  by  speaking  in  this 


io6  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

manner,  you  destroy  with  your  own  hands  all  youi 
profound  systems  which  have  no  design  but  to  ex- 
plain the  ways  of  Divinity  that  you  call  impenetra- 
ble ?  These  judgments,  these  ways,  and  these  de- 
signs, have  you  penetrated  them  ?  You  dare  not 
say  so  ;  and,  although  you  leason  incessantly,  you 
do  not  understand  them  more  than  we  do.  If  by 
chance  you  know  the  plan  of  God,  which  you  tell 
us  to  admire,  while  there  are  many  people  who  find 
it  so  little  worthy  of  a  just,  good,  intelligent,  and 
rational  being ;  do  not  say  that  this  plan  is  impene- 
trable. If  you  are  as  ignorant  as  we,  have  some 
indulgence  for  those  who  ingenuously  confess  that 
they  comprehend  nothing  of  it,  or  that  they  see 
nothing  in  it  Divine.  Cease  to  persecute  for  opin- 
ions which  you  do  not  understand  yourselves;  cease 
to  slander  each  other  for  dreams  and  conjectures 
which  are  altogether  contradictory  ;  speak  to  us  of 
intelligible  and  truly  useful  things  ;  and  no  longer 
tell  us  of  the  impenetrable  ways  of  a  God,  about 
which  you  do  nothing  but  stammer  and  contradict 
yourselves. 

In  speaking  to  us  incessantly  of  the  immense 
depths  of  Divine  wisdom,  in  forbidding  us  to  fathom 
these  depths  by  telling  us  that  it  is  insolence  to  call 
God  to  the  tribunal  of  our  humble  reason,  in  making 
it  a  crime  to  judge  our  Master,  the  theologians  only 
confess  the  embarrassment  in  which  they  find  them- 
selves as  soon  as  they  have  to  render  account  of 
the  conduct  of  a  God,  which  they  tell  us  is  marvel- 
ous, only  because  it  is  totally  impossible  for  them 
to  understand  it  themselves. 


God  the  Author  of  Our  Misfortunes.         107 

LXXVIII. — IT   IS   ABSURD   TO   CALL  HIM   A   GOD   OF 
JUSTICE   AND   GOODNESS,  WHO  INFLICTS  EVIL 
INDISCRIMINATELY   ON    THE    GOOD    AND    THE 
WICKED,     UPON     THE     INNOCENT     AND     THE 
GUILTY  ;    IT   IS   IDLE   TO    DEMAND   THAT   THE 
UNFORTUNATE  SHOULD  CONSOLE  THEMSELVES 
FOR  THEIR  MISFORTUNES,  IN  THE  VERY  ARMS 
OF    THE    ONE   WHO    ALONE    IS    THE    AUTHOR 
OF  THEM. 
Physical  evil  commonly  passes  as  the  punishment 
of  sin.     Calamities,  diseases,  famines,  wars,  earth- 
quakes, are  the  means  which  God  employs  to  chas- 
tise perverse  men.     Therefore,  they  have  no  diffi- 
culty in  attributing  these  evils  to  the  severity  of  a 
just  and  good  God.    However,  do  we  not  see  these 
plagues  fall  indiscriminately  upon  the  good  and  the 
wicked,  upon  the  impious  and  the  pious,  upon  the 
innocent  and  the  guilty?    How  can  we  be  made  to 
admire,  in  this  proceeding,  the  justice  and  the  good- 
ness of  a  being,  the  idea  of  whom  appears  so  con- 
soling to  the  unfortunate?     Doubtless  the  brain 
of  these  unfortunate  ones  has  been  disturbed  by 
their  misfortunes,  since  they  forget  that  God  is  the 
arbiter  of  things,  the  sole  dispenser  of  the  events 
of  this  world.      In   this  case  ought   they  not   to 
blame  Him  for  the  evils  for  which  they  would  find 
consolation    in    His   arms?      Unfortunate   father! 
you  console  yourself  in  the  bosom  of  Providence 
for   the   loss  of  a   cherished    child    or   of  a   wife, 
who   made   your   happiness !     Alas !    do   you    not 
see  that  your  God  has  killed   them  ?     Your  God 
has  rendered  you  miserable  ;  and  you  want  Him 


lo8  Common  Sense,  by  jfean  Meslier. 

to  console  you  for  the  fearful  blows  He  has  in- 
flicted upon  you. 

The  fantastic  and  supernatural  notions  of  theol- 
ogy have  succeeded  so  thoroughly  in  overcoming 
the  simplest,  the  clearest,  the  most  natural  ideas 
of  the  human  spirit,  that  the  pious,  incapable  of 
accusing  God  of  malice,  accustom  themselves  to 
look  upon  these  sad  afflictions  as  indubitable  proofs 
of  celestial  goodness.  Are  they  in  affliction,  they 
are  told  to  believe  that  God  loves  them,  that  God 
visits  them,  that  God  wishes  to  try  them.  Thus  it 
is  that  religion  changes  evil  into  good  !  Some  one 
has  said  profanely,  but  with  reason  :  "  If  the  good 
God  treats  thus  those  whom  He  loves,  I  beseech 
Him  very  earnestly  not  to  think  of  me."  Men 
must  have  formed  very  sinister  and  very  cruel  ideas 
of  their  God  whom  they  call  so  good,  in  order  to 
persuade  themselves  that  the  most  frightful  calami- 
ties and  the  most  painful  afflictions  are  signs  of 
His  favor !  Would  a  wicked  Genii  or  a  Devil  be 
more  ingenious  in  tormenting  his  enemies,  than 
sometimes  is  this  God  of  goodness,  who  is  so  often 
occupied  with  inflicting  His  chastisements  upon 
His  dearest  friends  ? 

LXXIX. — A     GOD     WHO  PUNISHES     THE     FAULTS 

WHICH    HE    COULD  HAVE    PREVENTED,    IS    A 

FOOL,    WHO     ADDS  INJUSTICE     TO     FOOLISH- 
NESS. 

What  would  we  say  oi  a  father  who,  we  are  as- 
sured, watches  without  relaxation  over  the  welfare 
of  his  feeble  and   unforeseeing  children,  and  who^ 


God  Adds  Injustice  to  Foolishness.  109 

however,  would  leave  them  at  liberty  to  go  astray  in 
the  midst  of  rocks,  precipices,  and  waters;  who 
would  prevent  them  but  rarely  from  following  their 
disordered  appetites  ;  who  would  permit  them  to 
handle,  without  precaution,  deadly  arms,  at  the  risk 
of  wounding  themselves  severely  ?  What  would  we 
think  of  this  same  father,  if,  instead  of  blaming 
himself  for  the  harm  which  would  have  happened 
to  his  poor  children,  he  should  punish  them  for 
their  faults  in  the  most  cruel  way  ?  We  would 
say,  with  reason,  that  this  father  is  a  fool,  who 
joins  injustice  to  foolishness.  A  God  who  punishes 
the  faults  which  He  could  have  prevented,  is  a  be- 
ing who  lacks  wisdom,  goodness,  and  equity.  A 
God  of  foresight  would  prevent  evil,  and  in  this 
way  would  be  saved  the  trouble  of  punishing  it. 
A  good  God  would  not  punish  weaknesses  which 
He  knows  to  be  inherent  in  human  nature.  A 
just  God,  if  He  has  made  man,  would  not  punish 
him  for  not  being  strong  enough  to  resist  his  de- 
sires. To  punish  weakness,  is  the  most  unjust 
tyranny.  Is  it  not  calumniating  a  just  God,  to  say 
that  He  punishes  men  for  their  faults,  even  in  the 
present  life  ?  How  would  He  punish  beings  whom 
He  alone  could  correct,  and  who,  as  long  as  they 
had  not  received  grace,  can  not  act  otherwise  than 
they  do  ? 

According  to  the  principles  of  theologians  them- 
selves, man,  in  his  actual  state  of  corruption,  can  do 
nothing  but  evil,  for  without  Divine  grace  he  has  not 
the  strength  to  do  good.  Moreover,  if  man's  nature, 
abandoned  to  itself,  ot  destitute  of  Divine  help,  in- 


no  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslief. 

dines  him  necessarily  to  evil,  or  renders  him  inca- 
pable of  doing  good,  what  becomes  of  his  free  will? 
According  to  such  principles,  man  can  merit  neither 
reward  nor  punishment ;  in  rewarding  man  for  the 
good  he  does,  God  would  but  recompense  Himself; 
in  punishing  man  for  the  evil  he  does,  God  punishes 
him  for  not  having  been  given  the  grace,  without 
which  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  do  better. 

LXXX. — FREE  WILL  IS  AN  IDLE  FANCY. 

Theologians  tell  and  repeat  to  us  that  man  is 
free,  while  all  their  teachings  conspire  to  destroy 
his  liberty.  Trying  to  justify  Divinity,  they  accuse 
him  really  of  the  blackest  injustice.  They  suppose 
that,  without  grace,  man  is  compelled  to  do  evil ; 
and  they  maintain  that  God  will  punish  him  for 
not  having  been  given  the  grace  to  do  good  J  With 
a  little  reflection,  we  will  be  obliged  to  see  that  man 
in  all  things  acts  by  compulsion,  and  that  his  free 
will  is  a  chimera,  even  according  to  the  theological 
system.  Does  it  depend  upon  man  whether  or  not 
he  shall  be  born  of  such  or  such  parents?  Does  it 
depend  upon  man  to  accept  or  not  to  accept  the 
opinions  of  his  parents  and  of  his  teachers  ?  If  I  were 
born  of  idolatrous  or  Mohammedan  parents,  would 
it  have  depended  upon  me  to  become  a  Christian? 
However,  grave  Doctors  of  Divinity  assure  us  that 
a  just  God  will  damn  without  mercy  all  those  to 
whom  He  has  not  given  the  grace  to  know  the  re- 
ligion of  the  Christians. 

Man's  birth  does  not  depend  upon  his  choice ; 
he  was  not  asked  if  he  would  or  would  not  come 


Free   Will  is  an  Idle  Fancy.  1 1 1 

into  the  world ;  nature  did  not  consult  him  upon 
the  country  and  the  parents  that  she  gave  him ; 
the  ideas  he  acquired,  his  opinions,  his  true  or  false 
notions  are  the  necessary  fruits  of  the  education 
which  he  has  received,  and  of  which  he  has  not  been 
the  master ;  his  passions  and  his  desires  are  the 
necessary  results  of  the  temperament  which  nature 
has  given  him,  and  of  the  ideas  with  which  he  has 
been  inspired ;  during  the  whole  course  of  his  life, 
his  wishes  and  his  actions  are  determined  by  his 
surroundings,  his  habits,  his  occupations,  his  pleas- 
ures, his  conversations,  and  by  the  thoughts  which 
present  themselves  involuntarily  to  him  ;  in  short, 
by  a  multitude  of  events  and  accidents  which  are 
beyond  his  control.  Incapable  of  foreseeing  the 
future,  he  knows  neither  what  he  will  wish,  nor  what 
he  will  do  in  the  time  which  must  immediately  follow 
the  present.  Man  passes  his  life,  from  the  moment 
of  his  birth  to  that  of  his  death,  without  having  been 
free  one  instant.  Man,  you  say,  wishes,  deliberates, 
chooses,  determines ;  hence  you  conclude  that  his 
actions  are  free.  It  is  true  that  man  intends,  but 
he  is  not  master  of  his  will  or  of  his  desires.  He 
can  desire  and  wish  only  what  he  judges  advanta- 
geous for  himself;  he  can  not  love  pain  nor  detest 
pleasure.  Man,  it  will  be  said,  sometimes  prefers 
pain  to  pleasure ;  but  then,  he  prefers  a  passing 
pain  in  the  hope  of  procuring  a  greater  and  more 
durable  pleasure.  In  this  case,  the  idea  of  a  greater 
good  determines  him  to  deprive  himself  of  one  less 
desirable. 

It  is  not  the  lover  who  gives  to  his  mistress  the 


1 1 2  Common  Soise,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

features  by  which  he  is  enchanted  ;  he  is  not  then 
the  master  to  love  or  not  to  love  the  object  of  his 
tenderness  ;  he  is  not  the  master  of  the  imagination 
or  the  temperament  which  dominates  him ;  from 
which  it  follows,  evidently,  that  man  is  not  the 
master  of  the  wishes  and  desires  which  rise  in  his 
soul,  independently  of  him.  But  man,  say  you,  can 
resist  his  desires  ;  then  he  is  free.  Man  resists  his 
desires  when  the  motives  which  turn  him  from  an 
object  are  stronger  than  those  which  draw  him  to- 
ward it  ;  but  then,  his  resistance  is  necessary.  A 
man  who  fears  dishonor  and  punishment  more  than 
he  loves  money,  resists  necessarily  the  desire  to 
take  possession  of  another's  money.  Are  we  not 
free  when  we  deliberate  ? — but  has  one  the  power  to 
know  or  not  to  know,  to  be  uncertain  or  to  be  as- 
sured ?  Deliberation  is  the  necessary  effect  of  the 
uncertainty  in  which  we  find  ourselves  with  refer- 
ence to  the  results  of  our  actions.  As  soon  as  we 
believe  ourselves  certain  of  these  results,  we  neces- 
sarily decide ;  and  then  we  act  necessarily  accord- 
ing as  we  shall  have  judged  right  or  wrong.  Our 
judgments,  true  or  false,  are  not  free ;  they  are 
necessarily  determined  by  ideas  which  we  have  re- 
ceived, or  which  our  mind  has  formed.  Man  is  not 
free  in  his  choice ;  he  is  evidently  compelled  to 
choose  what  he  judges  the  most  useful  or  the  most 
agreeable  for  himself  When  he  suspends  his  choice, 
he  is  not  more  free ;  he  is  forced  to  suspend  it  till 
he  knows  or  believes  he  knows  the  qualities  of  the 
objects  presented  to  him,  or  until  he  has  weighed 
the  consequence  of  his  actions.    Man,  you  will  say, 


Free   Will  is  an  Idle  Fancy.  113 

decides  every  moment  on  actions  which  he  knows 
will  endanger  him ;  man  kills  himself  sometimes, 
then  he  is  free.  I  deny  it !  Has  man  the  ability 
to  reason  correctly  or  incorrectly  ?  Do  not  his  rea- 
son and  his  wisdom  depend  either  upon  opinions 
that  he  has  formed,  or  upon  his  mental  constitu- 
tion? As  neither  the  one  nor  the  other  depends 
upon  his  will,  they  can  not  in  any  wise  prove  his 
liberty. 

If  I  make  the  wager  to  do  or  not  to  do  a  thing, 
am  I  not  free?  Does  it  not  depend  upon  me  to 
do  or  not  to  do  it  ?  No ;  I  will  answer  you,  the 
desire  to  win  the  wager  will  necessarily  determine 
you  to  do  or  not  to  do  the  thing  in  question.  "  But 
if  I  consent  to  lose  the  wager?"  Then  the  desire 
to  prove  to  me  that  you  are  free  will  have  become 
to  you  a  stronger  motive  than  the  desire  to  win  the 
wager;  and  this  motive  will  necessarily  have  de- 
termined you  to  do  or  not  to  do  what  was  under- 
stood between  us.  But  you  will  say,  "  I  feel  my- 
self free."  It  is  an  illusion  which  may  be  compared 
to  that  of  the  fly  in  the  fable,  which,  lighting  on 
the  shaft  of  a  heavy  wagon,  applauded  itself  as 
driver  of  the  vehicle  which  carried  it.  Man  who 
believes  himself  free,  is  a  fly  who  believes  himself 
the  master-motor  in  the  machine  of  the  universe, 
while  he  himself,  without  his  own  volition,  is  car- 
ried on  by  it.  The  feeling  which  makes  us  believe 
that  we  are  free  to  do  or  not  to  do  a  thing,  is  but  a 
pure  illusion.  When  we  come  to  the  veritable  prin- 
ciple of  our  actions,  we  will  find  that  they  are  noth- 
ing bit  the  necessary  results  of  our  wills  and  of  ouf 


114  Cofumon  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

desires,  which  are  never  within  our  power.  You 
believe  yourselves  free  because  you  do  as  you 
choose ;  but  are  you  really  free  to  will  or  not  to 
will,  to  desire  or  not  to  desire  ?  Your  wills  and 
your  desires,  are  they  not  necessarily  excited  by 
objects  or  by  qualities  which  do  not  depend  upon 
you  at  all  ? 

LXXXI. — WE  SHOULD  NOT  CONCLUDE  FROM  THIS 
THAT  SOCIETY  HAS  NOT  THE  RIGHT  TO 
CHASTISE   THE   WICKED. 

If  the  actions  of  men  are  necessary,  if  men  are 
not  free,  what  right  has  society  to  punish  the 
wicked  who  infest  it?  Is  it  not  very  unjust  to 
chastise  beings  who  could  not  act  otherwise  than 
they  did  ?  If  the  wicked  act  from  the  impulse  of 
their  corrupt  nature,  society  in  punishing  them  acts 
necessarily  on  its  side  from  the  desire  to  preserve 
itself.  Certain  objects  produce  in  us  the  feeling  of 
pain ;  therefore  our  nature  compels  us  to  hate 
them,  and  incites  us  to  remove  them.  A  tiger 
pressed  by  hunger,  attacks  the  man  whom  he  wishes 
to  devour ;  but  the  man  is  not  the  master  of  his 
fear  of  the  tiger,  and  seeks  necessarily  the  means 
of  exterminating  it. 

LXXXII. — REFUTATION   OF  THE   ARGUMENTS   IN 
FAVOR   OF   FREE   WILL. 

If  everything  is  necessary,  if  errors,  opinions,  and 
ideas  of  men  are  fated,  how  or  why  can  we  pretend 
to  reform  them  ?  The  errors  of  men  are  the  neces- 
sary results  of  th<ir  ignorance ;    their  ignorance, 


RefjitatioH  of  Frce-Will  Arguments.        115 

their  obstinacy,  their  credulity,  are  the  necessary 
results  of  their  inexperience,  of  their  indifference, 
of  their  lack  of  reflection  ;  the  same  as  congestion 
of  the  brain  or  lethargy  are  the  natural  effects  of 
some  diseases.  Truth,  experience,  reflection,  rea- 
son, are  the  proper  remedies  to  cure  ignorance, 
fanaticism,  and  follies ;  the  same  as  bleeding  is 
good  to  soothe  congestion  of  the  brain.  But  you 
will  say,  why  does  not  truth  produce  this  effect 
upon  many  of  the  sick  heads?  There  are  some  dis- 
eases which  resist  all  remedies ;  it  is  impossible  to 
cure  obstinate  patients  who  refuse  to  take  the  rem- 
edies which  are  given  them ;  the  interest  of  some 
men  and  the  folly  of  others  naturally  oppose  them 
to  the  admission  of  truth.  A  cause  produces  its 
effect  only  when  it  is  not  interrupted  in  its  action 
by  other  causes  which  are  stronger,  or  which  weaken 
the  action  of  the  first  cause  or  render  it  useless. 
It  is  entirely  impossible  to  have  the  best  arguments 
accepted  by  men  who  are  strongly  interested  in 
error;  who  are  prejudiced  in  its  favor;  who  refuse 
to  reflect ;  but  it  must  necessarily  be  that  truth  un- 
deceives the  honest  souls  who  seek  it  in  good  faith. 
Truth  is  a  cause ;  it  produces  necessarily  its  effect 
when  its  impulse  is  not  interrupted  by  causes  which 
suspend  its  effects. 

LXXXIII. — CONTINUATION. 

To  take  away  from  man  his  free  will,  is,  we  are 
told,  to  make  of  him  a  pure  machine,  an  automa- 
ton without  liberty ;  there  would  exist  in  him 
neither  merit  nor  virtue      What  is  merit  in  man? 


Il6  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

It  is  a  certain  manner  of  acting  which  renders  him 
estimable  in  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  beings.  What 
is  virtue  ?  It  is  the  disposition  that  causes  us  to  do 
good  to  others.  What  can  there  be  contemptible 
in  automatic  machines  capable  of  producing  such 
desirable  effects?  Marcus  Aurelius  was  a  very  use- 
ful spring  to  the  vast  machine  of  the  Roman  Em^ 
pire.  By  what  right  will  a  machine  despise  anothef 
machine,  whose  springs  would  facilitate  its  own 
play?  Good  people  are  springs  which  assist  soci- 
ety in  its  tendency  to  happiness ;  wicked  men  are 
badly-formed  springs,  which  disturb  the  order,  the 
progress,  and  harmony  of  society.  If  for  its  own 
interests  society  loves  and  rewards  the  good,  she 
hates,  despises,  and  removes  the  wicked,  as  useless 
or  dangerous  motors. 

LXXXIV. — GOD  HIMSELF,  IF  THERE  WAS  A  GOD, 
WOULD  NOT  BE  FREE;  HENCE  THE  USELESS- 
NESS   OF   ALL   RELIGION. 

The  world  is  a  necessary  agent  ;  all  the  beings 
which  compose  it  are  united  to  each  other,  and 
can  not  do  otherwise  than  they  do,  so  long  as  they 
are  moved  by  the  same  causes  and  possessed  of  the 
same  qualities.  If  they  lose  these  qualities,  they 
will  act  necessarily  in  a  different  way.  God  Him- 
self (admitting  His  existence  a  moment)  can  not 
be  regarded  as  a  free  agent ;  if  there  existed  a 
God,  His  manner  of  acting  would  necessarily  be 
determined  by  the  qualities  inherent  in  His  nature  ; 
nothing  would  be  able  to  alter  or  to  oppose  His 
wishes.     This  considered,  neither  our  actions  nor 


God  has  no  Right  to  Punish  or  Reward.     1 1 7 

our  prayers  nor  our  sacrifices  could  suspend  or 
change  His  invariable  progress  and  His  immutable 
designs,  from  which  we  are  compelled  to  conclude 
that  all  religion  would  be  entirely  useless. 

LXXXV. — EVEN  ACCORDING  TO  THEOLOGICAL 
PRINCIPLES,  MAN  IS  NOT  FREE  ONE  INSTANT. 
If  theologians  were  not  constantly  contradicting 
each  other,  they  would  know,  from  their  own  hy- 
potheses, that  man  can  not  be  called  free  for  an 
instant.  Is  not  man  supposed  to  be  in  a  continual 
dependence  upon  God  ?  Is  one  free,  when  one 
could  not  have  existed  or  can  not  live  without 
God,  and  when  one  ceases  to  exist  at  the  pleasure 
of  His  supreme  will  ?  If  God  created  man  of  noth- 
ing, if  the  preservation  of  man  is  a  continual  cre- 
ation, if  God  can  not  lose  sight  of  His  creature  for 
an  instant,  if  all  that  happens  to  him  is  a  result  of 
the  Divine  will,  if  man  is  nothing  of  himself,  if  all 
the  events  which  he  experiences  are  the  effects  of 
Divine  decrees,  if  he  can  not  do  any  good  without 
assistance  from  above,  how  can  it  be  pretended 
that  man  enjoys  liberty  during  one  moment  of  his 
life  ?  If  God  did  not  save  him  in  the  moment 
when  he  sins,  how  could  man  sin  ?  If  God  pre- 
serves him,  God,  therefore,  forces  him  to  live  in  or- 
der to  sin. 

LXXXVI. — ALL  EVIL,  ALL  DISORDER,  ALL  SIN,  CAN 
BE    ATTRIBUTED    BUT    TO    GOD  ;    AND    CONSE- 
QUENTLY, HE   HAS   NO   RIGHT   TO   PUNISH   OR 
REWARD. 
Divinity  is  continually  compared  to  a  king,  the 


1 1 8  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

majority  of  whose  subjects  revolt  against  Him 
and  it  is  pretended  that  He  has  the  right  to  reward 
His  faithful  subjects,  and  to  punish  those  who  re- 
volt against  Him.  This  comparison  is  not  just  in 
any  of  its  parts.  God  presides  over  a  machine,  of 
which  He  has  made  all  the  springs  ;  these  springs 
act  according  to  the  way  in  which  God  has  formed 
them  ;  it  is  the  fault  of  His  inaptitude  if  these 
springs  do  not  contribute  to  the  harmony  of  the 
machine  in  which  the  workman  desired  to  place 
them.  God  is  a  creating  King,  who  created  all 
kinds  of  subjects  for  Himself;  who  formed  them 
according  to  His  pleasure,  and  whose  wishes  can 
never  find  any  resistance.  If  God  in  His  empire 
has  rebellious  subjects,  it  is  God  who  resolved  to 
have  rebellious  subjects.  If  the  sins  of  men  dis- 
turb the  order  of  the  world,  it  is  God  who  desired 
this  order  to  be  disturbed.  Nobody  dares  to  doubt 
Divine  justice ;  however,  under  the  empire  of  a  just 
God,  we  find  nothing  but  injustice  and  violence. 
Power  decides  the  fate  of  nations.  Equity  seems 
to  be  banished  from  the  earth  ;  a  small  number  of 
men  enjoy  with  impunity  the  repose,  the  fortunes, 
the  liberty,  and  the  life  of  all  the  others.  Every- 
thing is  in  disorder  in  a  world  governed  by  a  God 
of  whom  it  is  said  that  disorder  displeases  Him 
exceedingly. 

Lxxxvii. — men's  prayers  to  god  prove  suf- 
ficiently THAT  THEY  ARE  NOT  SATISFIED 
WITH   THE   DIVINE   ECONOMY. 

Although  men  incessantly  admire  the  wisdom 


Men  not  Satisfied  with  the  Divine  Economy.     1 19 

the  goodness,  the  justice,  the  beautiful  order  of 
Providence,  they  are,  in  fact,  never  contented  with 
it.  The  prayers  which  they  continually  offer  to 
Heaven,  prove  to  us  that  they  are  not  at  all  satis- 
fied with  God's  administration.  Praying  to  God, 
asking  a  favor  of  Him,  is  to  mistrust  His  vigilant 
care  ;  to  pray  God  to  avert  or  to  suppress  an  evil, 
is  to  endeavor  to  put  obstacles  in  the  way  of  His 
justice  ;  to  implore  the  assistance  of  God  in  our 
calamities,  means  to  appeal  to  the  very  author  of 
these  calamities  in  order  to  represent  to  Him  our 
welfare  ;  that  He  ought  to  rectify  in  our  favor  His 
plan,  which  is  not  beneficial  to  our  interests.  The 
optimist,  or  the  one  who  thinks  that  ever>'thing  is 
good  in  the  world,  and  who  repeats  to  us  inces- 
santly that  we  live  in  the  best  world  possible,  if 
he  were  consistent,  ought  never  to  pray  ;  still  less 
should  he  expect  another  world  where  men  will  be 
happier.  Can  there  be  a  better  world  than  the 
best  possible  of  all  worlds  ?  Some  of  the  theolo- 
gians have  treated  the  optimists  as  impious  for 
having  claimed  that  God  could  not  have  made  a 
better  world  than  the  one  in  which  we  live  ;  ac- 
cording to  these  doctors  it  is  limiting  the  Divine 
power  and  insulting  it.  But  do  not  theologians 
see  that  it  is  less  offensive  for  God,  to  pretend  that 
He  did  His  best  in  creating  the  world,  than  to  say 
that  He,  having  the  power  to  produce  a  better  one, 
had  the  malice  to  make  a  very  bad  one  ?  If  the 
optimist,  by  his  system,  does  wrong  to  the  Divine 
power,  the  theologian,  who  treats  him  as  impious, 
is  himself  a  reprobate,  who  wounds  the  Divine  good- 
ness under  pretext  of  taking  interest  in  God. 


I20  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

LXXXVIII.— THE  REPARATION  OF  THE  INIQUITIES 
AND  THE  MISERIES  OF  THIS  WORLD  IN  AN- 
OTHER WORLD,  IS  AN  IDLE  CONJECTURE  AND 
AN  ABSURD    SUPPOSITION, 

When  we  complain  of  the  evils  of  which  this  world 
is  the  theater,  we  are  referred  to  another  world  ; 
we  are  told  that  there  God  will  repair  all  the  iniqui- 
ties and  the  miseries  which  He  permits  for  a  time 
here  below.  However,  if  leaving  His  eternal  jus- 
tice to  sleep  for  a  time,  God  could  consent  to  evil 
during  the  period  of  the  existence  of  our  globe, 
what  assurance  have  we  that  during  the  existence 
of  another  globe,  Divine  justice  will  not  likewise 
sleep  during  the  misfortunes  of  its  inhabitants  ? 
They  console  us  in  our  troubles  by  saying,  that 
God  is  patient,  and  that  His  justice,  although  often 
very  slow,  is  not  the  less  certain.  But  do  you  not 
see,  that  patience  can  not  be  suited  to  a  being  just, 
immutable,  and  omnipotent  ?  Can  God  tolerate 
injustice  for  an  instant .''  To  temporize  with  an 
evil  that  one  knows  of,  evinces  either  uncertainty, 
weakness,  or  collusion  ;  to  tolerate  evil  which  one 
has  the  power  to  prevent,  is  to  consent  that  evil 
should  be  committed. 

LXXXIX. — THEOLOGY  JUSTIFIES  THE  EVIL  AND 
INJUSTICE  PERMITTED  BY  ITS  GOD,  ONLY  BY 
CONCEDING  TO  THIS  GOD  THE  RIGHT  OF  THE 
STRONGEST,  THAT  IS  TO  SAY,  THE  VIOLATION 
OF  ALL  RIGHTS,  OR  IN  COMMANDING  FROM 
MEN   A    STUPID   DEVOTION. 

I  hear  a  multitude  of  theologians  tell  me  on  all 


Theology  Commands  a  Stupid  Devotion.      121 

sides,  that  God  is  infinitely  just,  but  that  His  jus- 
tice is  not  that  of  men  !     Of  what  kind,  or  of  what 
nature  is  this  Divine  justice  then  ?     What  idea  can 
T  form  of  a  justice  which  so  often  resembles  human 
injustice  ?     Is  it  not  confounding  all  our  ideas  of 
justice  and  of  injustice,  to  tell  us  that  what  is  equit- 
able in  God  is  iniquitous  in  His  creatures  ?     How 
can  we  take  as  a  model  a  being  whose  Divine  per- 
fections are  precisely  contrary  to  human   perfec- 
tions ?     God,  you  say,  is  the  sovereign  arbiter  of 
our  destinies;  His  supreme  power,   that  nothing 
can  limit,  authorizes  Him  to  do  as  He  pleases  with 
His  works  ;  a  worm,  such  as  man,  has  not  the  right 
to  murmur  against  Him.     This  arrogant  tone  is  lit- 
erally borrowed  from  the  language  which  the  minis- 
ters of  tyrants  hold,  when  they  silence  those  who 
suffer  by  their  violences  ;   it  can  not,  then,  be  the 
language  of  the  ministers  of  a  God  of  whose  equity 
they  boast.     It  can  not  impose  upon  a  being  who 
reasons.     Ministers  of  a  just  God  !    I  tell  you  then, 
that  the  greatest  power  is  not  able  to  confer  even 
upon  your  God  Himself  the  right  to  be  unjust  to 
the  vilest  of  His  creatures.    A  despot  is  not  a  God. 
A  God  who  arrogates  to  Himself  the  right  to  do 
evil,  is  a  tyrant ;  a  tyrant  is  not  a  model  for  men. 
He  ought  to  be  an  execrable  object  in  their  eyes. 
Is  it  not  strange  that,  in  order  to  justify  Divinity, 
they  made  of  Him  the  most  unjust  of  beings  ?     As 
soon  as  we  complain  of  His  conduct,  they  think  to 
silence   us  by  claiming  that   God   is  the   Master; 
which  signifies  that  God,  beinj^  the  strongest.  He 
is  not  subjected  to  ordinary  rules.     But  the  right 


122  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

of  the  strongest  is  the  violation  of  all  rights ;  it  can 
pass  as  a  right  but  in  the  eyes  of  a  savage  conquer- 
or, who,  in  the  intoxication  of  his  fury,  imagines  he 
has  the  right  to  do  as  he  pleases  with  the  unfortu- 
nate ones  whom  he  has  conquered  ;  this  barbarous 
right  can  appear  legitimate  only  to  slaves,  who  are 
blind  enough  to  think  that  everything  is  allowed 
to  tyrants,  who  are  too  strong  for  them  to  resist. 

By  a  foolish  simplicity,  or  rather  by  a  plain  con- 
tradiction of  terms,  do  we  not  see  devotees  exclaim, 
amidst  the  greatest  calamities,  that  the  good  Lord 
is  the  Master  ?  Well,  illogical  reasoners,  you 
believe  in  good  faith  that  the  good  Lord  sends 
you  the  pestilence ;  that  your  good  Lord  gives 
war ;  that  the  good  Lord  is  the  cause  of  famine ; 
in  a  word,  that  the  good  Lord,  without  ceasing  to 
be  good,  has  the  will  and  the  right  to  do  you  the 
greatest  evils  you  can  endure  !  Cease  to  call  your 
Lord  good  when  He  does  you  harm :  do  not  say 
that  He  is  just ;  say  that  He  is  the  strongest,  and 
that  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  avert  the  blows 
which  His  caprice  inflicts  upon  you.  God,  you  say, 
punishes  us  for  our  highest  good ;  but  what  real 
benefit  can  result  to  a  nation  in  being  exterminated 
by  contagion,  murdered  by  wars,  corrupted  by  the 
examples  of  perverse  masters,  continually  pressed 
by  the  iron  scepter  of  merciless  tyrants,  subjected 
to  the  scourge  of  a  bad  government,  which  often 
for  centuries  causes  nations  to  suffer  its  destructive 
effects?  The  eyes  of  faith  must  be  strange  eyes,  if 
we  see  by  their  means  any  advantage  in  the  most 
dreadful  miseries  and  in  the  most  durable  evils,  in 


God  is  Barbarous  and  Unjust.  123 

the  vices  and  follies  by  which  our  kind  is  so  cruelly 
afflicted ! 

KC. — REDEMPTION,  AND  THE  CONTINUAL  EXTER- 
MINATIONS ATTRIBUTED  TO  JEHOVAH  IN  THE 
BIBLE,  ARE  SO  MANY  ABSURD  AND  RIDICULOUS 
INVENTIONS  WHICH  PRESUPPOSE  AN  UNJUST 
AND   BARBAROUS   GOD, 

What  strange  ideas  of  the  Divine  justice  must 
the  Christians  have  who  believe  that  their  God, 
with  the  view  of  reconciling  Himself  with  man- 
kind, guilty  without  knowledge  of  the  fault  of  their 
parents,  sacrificed  His  own  innocent  and  sinless 
Son !  What  would  we  say  of  a  king,  whose  sub- 
jects having  revolted  against  him,  in  order  to  ap- 
pease himself  could  find  no  other  expedient  than 
to  put  to  death  the  heir  to  his  crown,  who  had 
taken  no  part  in  the  general  rebellion  ?  It  is,  the 
Christian  will  say,  through  kindness  for  His  sub- 
jects, incapable  of  satisfying  themselves  of  His 
Divine  justice,  that  God  consented  to  the  cruel 
death  of  His  Son.  But  the  kindness  of  a  father  to 
strangers  does  not  give  him  the  right  to  be  unjust 
and  cruel  to  his  son.  All  the  qualities  that  theol- 
ogy gives  to  its  God  annul  each  other.  The  exer- 
cise of  one  of  His  perfections  is  always  at  the  ex- 
pense of  another. 

Has  the  Jew  any  more  rational  ideas  than  the 
Christian  of  Divine  justice?  A  king,  by  his  pride, 
kindles  the  wrath  of  Heaven.  Jehovah  sends  pes- 
tilence upon  His  innocent  people ;  seventy  thousand 
subjects  are  exterminated  to  expiate  the  fault  of 


124  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

a  monarch  that  the  kindness  of  God  resolved  to 
spare. 

XCI.— HOW  CAN  WE  DISCOVER  A  TENDER,  GEN- 
EROUS, AND  EQUITABLE  FATHER  IN  A  BEING 
WHO  HAS  CREATED  HIS  CHILDREN  BUT  TO 
MAKE   THEM    UNHAPPY? 

In  spite  of  the  injustice  with  which  all  religions 
are  pleased  to  blacken  the  Divinity,  men  can  not 
consent  to  accuse  Him  of  iniquity ;  they  fear  that 
He,  like  the  tyrants  of  this  world,  will  be  offended 
by  the  truth,  and  redouble  the  weight  of  His  malice 
and  tyranny  upon  them.  They  listen,  then,  to  their 
priests,  who  tell  them  that  their  God  is  a  tender 
Father;  that  this  God  is  an  equitable  Monarch, 
whose  object  in  this  world  is  to  assure  Himself  of 
the  love,  obedience,  and  respect  of  His  subjects ; 
who  gives  them  the  liberty  to  act,  in  order  to  give 
them  occasion  to  deserve  His  favors  and  to  acquire 
eternal  happiness,  which  He  does  not  owe  them  in 
any  way.  In  what  way  can  we  recognize  the  ten- 
derness of  a  Father  who  created  the  majority  of 
His  children  but  for  the  purpose  of  dragging  out  a 
life  of  pain,  anxiety,  and  bitterness  upon  this  earth  ? 
Is  there  any  more  fatal  boon  than  this  pretended 
liberty  which,  it  is  said,  men  can  abuse,  and  thereby 
expose  themselves  to  the  risk  of  eternal  misery  ? 

XCII. — THE  LIFE  OF  MORTALS,  ALL  WHICH  TAKES 
PLACE  HERE  BELOW,  TESTIFIES  AGAINST 
man's  LIBERTY  AND  AGAINST  THE  JUSTICE 
AND   GOODNESS   OF  A   PRETENDED   GOD. 

In  calling  mortals  into  life,  what  a  cruel  and  dan* 


The  Justice  and  Goodness  of  God.  125 

gerous  game  does  the  Divinity  force  them  to  play ! 
Thrust  into  the  world  without  their  wish,  provided 
with  a  temperament  of  which  they  are  not  the  mas- 
ters, animated  by  passions  and  desires  inherent  in 
their  nature,  exposed  to  snares  which  they  have  not 
the  skill  to  avoid,  led  away  by  events  which  they 
could  neither  foresee  nor  prevent,  the  unfortunate 
beings  are  obliged  to  follow  a  career  which  conducts 
them  to  horrible  tortures. 

Travelers  assert  that  in  some  part  of  .\sia  reigns 
a  sultan  full  of  phantasies,  and  very  absolute  in  his 
will.  By  a  strange  mania  this  prince  spends  his 
time  sitting  before  a  table,  on  which  are  placed  six 
dice  and  a  dice-box.  One  end  of  the  table  is  cov- 
ered with  a  pile  of  gold,  for  the  purpose  of  exciting 
the  cupidity  of  the  courtiers  and  of  the  people  by 
whom  the  sultan  is  surrounded.  He,  knowing  the 
weak  point  of  his  subjects,  speaks  to  them  in  this 
way  :  "  Slaves  !  I  wish  you  well ;  my  aim  is  to  en- 
rich you  and  render  you  all  happy.  Do  you  see 
these  treasures  ?  Well,  they  are  for  you  !  try  to 
win  them ;  let  each  one  in  turn  take  this  box  and 
these  dice  ;  whoever  shall  have  the  good  luck  to 
raffle  six,  will  be  master  of  this  treasure ;  but  I 
warn  you  that  he  who  has  not  the  luck  to  throw 
the  required  number,  will  be  precipitated  forever 
into  an  obscure  cell,  where  my  justice  exacts  that 
he  shall  be  burned  by  a  slow  fire."  Upon  this 
threat  of  the  monarch,  they  regarded  each  other  in 
consternation  ;  no  one  willing  to  take  a  risk  so  dan- 
gerous. "  What !  "  said  the  angry  sultan,  "  no  one 
wants  to  play  ?     Oh,  this  does  not  suit  me !     My 


126  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

glory  demands  that  you  play.  You  will  raffle  then  ; 
I  wish  it ;  obey  without  replying !  "  It  is  well  to 
observe  that  the  despot's  dice  are  prepared  in  such 
a  way,  that  upon  a  hundred  thousand  throws  there 
is  but  one  that  wins ;  thus  the  generous  monarch 
has  the  pleasure  to  see  his  prison  well  filled,  and 
his  treasures  seldom  carried  away.  Mortals !  this 
Sultan  is  your  God ;  His  treasures  are  heaven ; 
His  cell  is  hell ;  and  you  hold  the  dice  ! 

XCIII. — IT  IS   NOT  TRUE  THAT  WE  OWE  ANY  GRAT- 
ITUDE  TO   WHAT   WE   CALL  PROVIDENCE. 

We  are  constantly  told  that  we  owe  an  infinite 
gratitude  to  Providence  for  the  countless  blessings 
It  is  pleased  to  lavish  upon  us.  They  boast  above 
all  that  our  existence  is  a  blessing.  But,  alas  !  how 
many  mortals  are  really  satisfied  with  their  mode 
of  existence?  If  life  has  its  sweets,  how  much  of 
bitterness  is  mingled  with  it?  Is  not  one  bitter 
trouble  sufficient  to  blight  all  of  a  sudden  the  most 
peaceful  and  happy  life?  Is  there  a  great  number 
of  men  who,  if  it  depended  upon  them,  would  wish 
to  begin,  at  the  same  sacrifice,  the  painful  career 
into  which,  without  their  consent,  destiny  has 
thrown  them  ?  You  say  that  existence  itself  is  a 
great  blessing.  But  is  not  this  existence  continu- 
ally troubled  by  griefs,  fears,  and  often  cruel  and 
undeserved  maladies.  This  existence,  menaced  on 
so  many  sides,  can  we  not  be  deprived  of  it  at  any 
moment  ?  Who  is  there,  after  having  lived  for 
some  time,  who  has  not  been  deprived  of  a  beloved 
wife,  a  beloved  child,  a  consoling  friend,  whose  loss 


Man  tiot  the  Beloved  Child  of  Providence.      127 

fills  his  mind  constantly  ?  There  are  very  few  mor- 
tals who  have  not  been  compelled  to  drink  from 
the  cup  of  bitterness ;  there  are  but  few  who  have 
not  often  wished  to  die.  Finally,  it  did  not  depend 
upon  us  to  exist  or  not  to  exist.  Would  the  bird 
be  under  such  great  obligations  to  the  bird-catcher 
for  having  caught  it  in  his  net  and  for  having  put  it 
into  his  cage,  in  order  to  eat  it  after  being  amused 
with  it  ? 

XCIV. — TO  PRETEND  THAT  MAN  IS  THE  BELOVED 
CHILD  OF  PROVIDENCE,  GOD'S  FAVORITE,  THE 
ONLY  OBJECT  OF  HIS  LABORS,  THE  KING  OF 
NATURE,   IS   FOLLY. 

In  spite  of  the  infirmities,  the  troubles,  the  mis- 
eries to  which  man  is  compelled  to  submit  in  this 
world  ;  in  spite  of  the  danger  which  his  alarmed 
imagination  creates  in  regard  to  another,  he  is  still 
foolish  enough  to  believe  himself  to  be  God's  fa- 
vorite, the  only  aim  of  all  His  works.  He  imagines 
that  the  entire  universe  was  made  for  him  ;  he  calls 
himself  arrogantly  the  king  of  nature,  and  ranks  him- 
self far  above  other  animals.  Poor  mortal !  upon 
what  can  you  establish  your  high  pretensions  ?  It 
is,  you  say,  upon  your  soul,  upon  your  reason,  upon 
your  sublime  faculties,  which  place  you  in  a  condi- 
tion to  exercise  an  absolute  authority  over  the  be- 
ings which  surround  you.  But  weak  sovereign  of 
this  world,  art  thou  sure  one  instant  of  the  duration 
of  thy  reign  ?  The  least  atoms  of  matter  which 
you  despise,  are  they  not  sufficient  to  deprive  you 
of  your  throne  and  life  ?    Finally,  does  not  the  king 


128  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

of  animals  terminate  always  by  becoming  food  for 
the  worms  ? 

You  speak  of  your  soul.  But  do  you  know  what 
your  soul  is  ?  Do  you  not  see  that  this  soul  is  but 
the  assemblage  of  your  organs,  from  which  life  re- 
sults ?  Would  you  refuse  a  soul  to  other  animals 
who  live,  who  think,  who  judge,  who  compare,  who 
seek  pleasure,  and  avoid  pain  even  as  you  do,  and 
who  often  possess  organs  which  are  better  than 
your  own  ?  You  boast  of  your  intellectual  facul- 
ties, but  these  faculties  which  render  you  so  proud, 
do  they  make  you  any  happier  than  other  creat- 
ures ?  Do  you  often  make  use  of  this  reason  which 
you  glory  in,  and  which  religion  commands  you  not 
to  listen  to  ?  Those  animals  which  you  disdain 
because  they  are  weaker  or  less  cunning  than  your- 
self, are  they  subject  to  troubles,  to  mental  anxie- 
ties, to  a  thousand  frivolous  passions,  to  a  thousand 
imaginary  needs,  of  which  your  heart  is  continually 
the  prey  ?  Are  they,  like  you,  tormented  by  the 
past,  alarmed  for  the  future  ?  Limited  solely  to 
the  present,  what  you  call  their  instinct,  and  what 
I  call  their  intelligence,  is  it  not  sufficient  to  pre- 
serve and  to  defend  them  and  to  provide  for  their 
needs  ?  This  instinct,  of  which  you  speak  with  dis- 
dain, does  it  not  often  serve  them  much  better  than 
your  wonderful  faculties  ?  Their  peaceable  igno- 
rance, is  it  not  more  advantageous  than  these  ex- 
travagant meditations  and  these  futile  investiga- 
tions which  render  you  miserable,  and  for  which 
you  are  driven  to  murdering  beings  of  your  own 
noble  kind  ?      Finally,  these  animals,   have  they, 


Comparison  Betivcen  Man  and  Animals.      129 

like  mortals,  a  troubled  imagination  which  makes 
them  fear  not  only  death,  but  even  eternal  tor- 
ments ?  Augustus,  having  heard  that  Herod,  king 
of  Judea,  had  murdered  his  sons,  cried  out  :  "  It 
would  be  better  to  be  Herod's  pig  than  his  son  ! " 
We  can  say  as  much  of  men  ;  this  beloved  child 
of  Providence  runs  much  greater  risks  than  all 
other  animals.  After  having  suffered  a  great  deal 
in  this  world,  do  we  not  believe  ourselves  in  danger 
of  suffering  for  eternity  in  another  ? 

XCV. — COMPARISON   BETWEEN  MAN  AND  ANIMALS. 

What  is  the  exact  line  of  demarkation  between 
man  and  the  other  animals  which  he  calls  brutes  ? 
In  what  way  does  he  essentially  differ  from  the 
beasts  ?  It  is,  we  are  told,  by  his  intelligence,  by 
the  faculties  of  his  mind,  by  his  reason,  that  man 
is  superior  to  all  the  other  animals,  which  in  all 
they  do,  act  but  by  physical  impulsions,  reason 
taking  no  part.  But  the  beasts,  having  more  lim- 
ited needs  than  men,  do  very  well  without  these 
intellectual  faculties,  which  would  be  perfectly  use- 
less in  their  way  of  living.  Their  instinct  is  suffi- 
cient for  them,  while  all  the  faculties  of  man  are 
hardly  sufficient  to  render  his  existence  endurable, 
and  to  satisfy  the  needs  which  his  imagination,  his 
prejudices,  and  his  institutions  multiply  to  his  tor- 
ment. 

The  brute  is  not  affected  by  the  same  objects  as 
man  ;  it  has  neither  the  same  needs,  nor  the  same 
desires,  nor  the  same  whims ;  it  early  reaches  ma- 
turity, while  nothing  is  more  rare  than  to  see  the 


130  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Me  slier. 

human  being  enjoying  all  of  his  faculties,  exercis- 
ing them  freely,  and  making  a  proper  use  of  them 
for  his  own  happiness. 

XCVI. — THERE   ARE   NO   MORE   DETESTABLE   ANI- 
MALS  IN   THIS   WORLD   THAN   TYRANTS. 

We  are  assured  that  the  human  soul  is  a  simple 
substance  ;  but  if  the  soul  is  such  a  simple  sub- 
stance, it  ought  to  be  the  same  in  all  the  individ- 
uals of  the  human  race,  who  all  ought  to  have  the 
same  intellectual  faculties  ;  however,  this  is  not  the 
case  ;  men  differ  as  much  in  qualities  of  mind  as  in 
the  features  of  the  face.  There  are  in  the  human 
race,  beings  as  different  from  one  another  as  man  is 
from  a  horse  or  a  dog.  What  conformity  or  resem- 
blance do  we  find  between  some  men  ?  What  an 
infinite  distance  between  the  genius  of  a  Locke,  of 
a  Newton,  and  that  of  a  peasant,  of  a  Hottentot, 
or  of  a  Laplander  ! 

Man  differs  from  other  animals  but  by  the  differ- 
ence of  his  organization,  which  causes  him  to  pro- 
duce effects  of  which  they  are  not  capable.  The 
variety  which  we  notice  in  the  organs  of  individ- 
uals of  the  human  race,  suffices  to  explain  to  us 
the  difference  which  is  often  found  between  them 
in  regard  to  the  intellectual  faculties.  More  or  less 
of  delicacy  in  these  organs,  of  heat  in  the  blood,  of 
promptitude  in  the  fluids,  more  or  less  of  supple- 
ness or  of  rigidity  in  the  fibers  and  the  nerves, 
must  necessarily  produce  the  infinite  diversities 
which  are  noticeable  in  the  minds  of  men.  It  is 
by  exercise,  by  habitude,  by  education,  that  the 


Refutation  of  Mans  Excellence.  1 3 1 

human  mind  is  developed  and  succeeds  in  rising 
above  the  beings  which  surround  it  ;  man,  without 
culture  and  without  experience,  is  a  being  as  de- 
void of  reason  and  of  industry  as  the  brute.  A 
stupid  individual  is  a  man  whose  organs  are  acted 
upon  with  difficulty,  whose  brain  is  hard  to  move, 
whose  blood  circulates  slowly  ;  a  man  of  mind  is 
he  whose  organs  are  supple,  who  feels  very  quickly, 
whose  brain  moves  promptly ;  a  learned  man  is 
one  whose  organs  and  whose  brain  have  been 
exercised  a  long  while  upon  objects  which  occupy 
him. 

The  man  without  culture,  experience,  or  reason, 
is  he  not  more  despicable  and  more  abominable 
than  the  vilest  insects,  or  the  most  ferocious  beasts? 
Is  there  a  more  detestable  being  in  nature  than  a 
Tiberius,  a  Nero,  a  Caligula  ?  These  destroyers  of 
the  human  race,  known  by  the  name  of  conquerors, 
have  they  better  souls  than  those  of  bears,  lions, 
and  panthers  ?  Are  there  more  detestable  animals 
in  this  world  than  tyrants  ? 

XCVII. — REFUTATION   OF   MAN'S   EXCELLENCE. 

Human  extravagances  soon  dispel,  in  the  eyes 
of  reason,  the  superiority  which  man  arrogantly 
claims  over  other  animals.  Do  we  not  see  many 
animals  show  more  gentleness,  more  reflection  and 
reason  than  the  animal  which  calls  itself  reasonable 
par  excellence  ?  Are  there  amongst  men,  who  are 
so  often  enslaved  and  oppressed,  societies  as  well 
organized  as  those  of  ants,  bees,  or  beavers  ?  Do 
we  ever  see  ferocious  beasts  of  the  same  kind  meet 


132  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

upon  the  plains  to  devour  each  other  without  profit  ? 
Do  we  see  among  them  religious  wars  ?  The  cru- 
elty of  beasts  against  other  species  is  caused  by- 
hunger,  the  need  of  nourishment  ;  the  cruelty  of 
man  against  man  has  no  other  motive  than  the 
vanity  of  his  masters  and  the  folly  of  his  imperti- 
nent prejudices.  Theorists  who  try  to  make  us 
believe  that  everything  in  the  universe  was  made 
for  man,  are  ver>'  much  embarrassed  when  we  ask 
them  in  what  way  can  so  many  mischievous  ani- 
mals which  continually  infest  our  life  here,  contrib- 
ute to  the  welfare  of  men.  What  known  advantage 
results  for  God's  friend  to  be  bitten  by  a  viper, 
stung  by  a  gnat,  devoured  by  vermin,  torn  into 
pieces  by  a  tiger  ?  Would  not  all  these  animals 
reason  as  wisely  as  our  theologians,  if  they  should 
pretend  that  man  was  made  for  them  ? 

'^    XCVIII. — AN   ORIENTAL   LEGEND. 

At  a  short  distance  from  Bagdad  a  dervis,  cele- 
brated for  his  holiness,  passed  his  days  tranquilly 
in  agreeable  solitude.  The  surrounding  inhabitants, 
in  order  to  have  an  interest  in  his  prayers,  eagerly 
brought  to  him  every  day  provisions  and  presents. 
The  holy  man  thanked  God  incessantly  for  the 
blessings  Providence  heaped  upon  him.  "O  Allah," 
said  he,  "  how  ineffable  is  Thy  tenderness  toward 
Thy  servants.  What  have  I  done  to  deserve  the 
benefactions  which  Thy  liberality  loads  me  with  ! 
Oh,  Monarch  of  the  skies  !  oh.  Father  of  nature ! 
what  praises  could  be  worthy  to  celebrate  Thy  mu- 
nificence and  Thy  paternal  cares  !     O  Allah,  how 


An  Oriental  Legend.  133 

great  are  Thy  gifts  to  the  children  of  men  !  "  Filled 
with  gratitude,  our  hermit  made  a  vow  to  under- 
take for  the  seventh  time  the  pilgrimage  to  Mecca. 
The  war,  which  then  existed  between  the  Persians 
and  the  Turks,  could  not  make  him  defer  the  exe- 
cution of  his  pious  enterprise.  Full  of  confidence 
in  God,  he  began  his  journey  ;  under  the  inviolable 
safeguard  of  a  respected  garb,  he  passed  through 
without  obstacle  the  enemies'  detachments ;  far 
from  being  molested,  he  receives  at  every  step 
marks  of  veneration  from  the  soldiers  of  both 
sides.  At  last,  overcome  by  fatigue,  he  finds  him- 
self obliged  to  seek  a  shelter  from  the  rays  of  the 
burning  sun  ;  he  finds  it  beneath  a  fresh  group  of 
palm-trees,  whose  roots  were  watered  by  a  limpid 
rivulet.  In  this  solitary  place,  where  the  silence 
was  broken  only  by  the  murmuring  of  the  waters 
and  the  singing  of  the  birds,  the  man  of  God  found 
not  only  an  enchanting  retreat,  but  also  a  delicious 
repast ;  he  had  but  to  extend  the  hand  to  gather 
dates  and  other  agreeable  fruits  ;  the  rivulet  can 
appease  his  thirst ;  very  soon  a  green  plot  invites 
him  to  take  sweet  repose.  As  he  awakens  he  per- 
forms the  holy  cleansing ;  and  in  a  transport  of  ec- 
stasy, he  exclaimed :  "  O  Allah !  HOW  great  is  Thy 

GOODNESS  TO  THE  CHILDREN  OF  MEN  ! "  Well 
rested,  refreshed,  full  of  life  and  gayety,  our  holy 
man  continues  on  his  road  ;  it  conducts  him  for 
some  time  through  a  delightful  country,  which 
offers  to  his  sight  but  blooming  shores  and  trees 
filled  with  fruit.  Softened  by  this  spectacle,  he 
worships  incessantly  the  rich  and  liberal  hand  of 


134  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

Providence,  which  is  everywhere  seen  occupied  with 
the  welfare  of  the  human  race.  Going  a  little 
farther,  he  comes  across  a  few  mountains,  which 
were  quite  hard  to  ascend  ;  but  having  arrived  at 
their  summit,  a  hideous  sight  suddenly  meets  his 
eyes;  his  soul  is  all  consternation.  He  discovers  a 
vast  plain  entirely  devastated  by  the  sword  and 
fire  ;  he  looks  at  it  and  finds  it  covered  with  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  corpses,  deplorable  re- 
mains of  a  bloody  battle  which  had  taken  place  a 
few  days  previous.  Eagles,  vultures,  ravens,  and 
wolves  were  devouring  the  dead  bodies  with  which 
the  earth  was  covered.  This  sight  plunges  our  pil- 
grim into  a  sad  reverie.  Heaven,  by  a  special  favor, 
had  made  him  understand  the  language  of  beasts. 
He  heard  a  wolf,  gorged  with  human  flesh,  exclaim 
in  his  excessive  joy  :  "  O  Allah  !  how  great  is  Thy 
kindness  for  the  children  of  wolves  !  Thy  foresee- 
ing wisdom  takes  care  to  send  infatuation  upon 
these  detestable  men  who  are  so  dangerous  to  us. 
Through  an  effect  of  Thy  Providence  which  watches 
over  Thy  creatures,  these,  our  destroyers,  murder 
each  other,  and  thus  furnish  us  with  sumptuous  re- 
pasts.    O  Allah  !  HOW  GREAT  IS  Thy  goodness 

TO   THE   CHILDREN   OF  WOLVES  !  " 
I 
XCIX. — IT   IS   FOOLISH   TO   SEE   IN   THE   UNIVERSE 

ONLY  THE  BENEFACTIONS  OF  HEAVEN,  AND 
TO  BELIEVE  THAT  THIS  UNIVERSE  WAS  MADE 
BUT   FOR   MAN. 

An  exalted  imagination  sees  in  the  universe  but 
the  benefactions  of  Heaven  ;  a  calm   mind  finds 


Foolish  Beliefs.  135 

good  and  evil  in  it.  I  exist,  you  will  say ;  but  is  this 
existence  always  a  benefit  ?  You  will  say,  look  at 
this  sun,  which  shines  for  you  ;  this  earth,  which  is 
covered  with  fruits  and  verdure ;  these  flowers, 
which  bloom  ior  our  sight  and  smell ;  these  trees, 
which  bend  beneath  the  weight  of  fruits  ;  these 
pure  streams,  which  flow  but  to  quench  your  thirst; 
these  seas,  which  embrace  the  universe  to  facilitate 
your  commerce  ;  these  animals,  which  a  foreseeing 
nature  produces  for  your  use  !  Yes,  I  see  all  these 
things,  and  I  enjoy  them  when  I  can.  But  in  some 
climates  this  beautiful  sun  is  most  always  obscured 
from  me  ;  in  others,  its  excessive  heat  torments 
me,  produces  storm,  gives  rise  to  dreadful  diseases, 
dries  up  the  fields  ;  the  meadows  have  no  grass, 
the  trees  are  fruitless,  the  harvests  are  scorched, 
the  springs  are  dried  up  ;  I  can  scarcely  exist,  and 
I  sigh  under  the  cruelty  of  a  nature  which  you  find 
so  benevolent.  If  these  seas  bring  me  spices,  riches, 
and  useless  things,  do  they  not  destroy  a  multitude 
of  mortals  who  are  dupes  enough  to  go  after  them  ? 
Man's  vanity  persuades  him  that  he  is  the  sole 
center  of  the  universe  ;  he  creates  for  himself  a 
world  and  a  God  ;  he  thinks  himself  of  sufficient 
consequence  to  derange  nature  at  his  will,  but  he 
reasons  as  an  atheist  when  the  question  of  other 
animals  is  involved.  Does  he  not  imagine  that  the 
individuals  different  from  his  species  are  automa- 
tons unworthy  of  the  cares  of  universal  Providence, 
and  that  the  beasts  can  not  be  the  objects  of  its 
justice  and  kindness  ?  Mortals  consider  fortunate 
or  unfortunatt  events,  health  or  sickness,  life  and 


136  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

death,  abundance  or  famine,  as  rewards  or  punish- 
ments for  the  use  or  misuse  of  the  liberty  which 
they  arrogate  to  themselves.  Do  they  reason  on 
this  principle  when  animals  are  taken  into  consid- 
eration ?  No  ;  although  they  see  them  under  a 
just  God  enjoy  and  suffer,  be  healthy  and  sick,  live 
and  die,  like  themselves,  it  does  not  enter  their 
mind  to  ask  what  crimes  these  beasts  have  com- 
mitted in  order  to  cause  the  displeasure  of  the 
Arbiter  of  nature.  Philosophers,  blinded  by  their 
theological  prejudices,  in  order  to  disembarrass 
themselves,  have  gone  so  far  as  to  pretend  that 
beasts  have  no  feelinfys  ! 

Will  men  never  renounce  their  foolish  preten- 
sions ?  Will  they  not  recognize  that  nature  was 
not  made  for  them  ?  Will  they  not  see  that  this 
nature  has  placed  on  equal  footing  all  the  beings 
which  she  produced  ?  Will  they  not  see  that  all 
organized  beings  are  equally  made  to  be  born  and 
to  die,  to  enjoy  and  to  suffer  ?  Finally,  instead  of 
priding  themselves  preposterously  on  their  mental 
faculties,  are  they  not  compelled  to  admit  that  they 
often  render  them  more  unhappy  than  the  beasts, 
in  which  we  find  neither  opinions,  prejudices,  vani- 
ties, nor  the  weaknesses  which  decide  at  every  mo- 
ment the  well-being  of  men  ? 

C. — WHAT  IS  THE  SOUL?  WE  KNOW  NOTHING 
ABOUT  IT.  IF  THIS  PRETENDED  SOUL  WAS 
OF  ANOTHER  ESSENCE  FROM  THAT  OF  THE 
BODY,   THEIR   UNION  WOULD   BE   IMPOSSIBLE. 

The   superiority  which   men   arrogate  to  them- 


What  is  the  Soul?  137 

selves  over  other  animals,  is  principally  founded 
upon  the  opinion  of  possessing  exclusively  an  im- 
mortal soul.  But  as  soon  as  we  ask  what  this  soul 
is,  they  begin  to  stammer.  It  is  an  unknown  sub- 
stance ;  it  is  a  secret  force  distinguished  from  their 
bodies ;  it  is  a  spirit  of  which  they  can  form  no 
idea.  Ask  them  how  this  spirit,  which  they  sup- 
pose like  their  God,  totally  deprived  of  a  physical 
substance,  could  combine  itself  with  their  material 
bodies  ?  They  will  tell  you  that  they  know  noth- 
ing about  it  ;  that  it  is  a  mystery  to  them  ;  that 
this  combination  is  the  effect  of  the  Almighty 
power.  These  are  the  clear  ideas  which  men  form 
of  the  hidden,  or,  rather,  imaginary  substance  which 
they  consider  the  motor  of  all  their  actions  !  If 
the  soul  is  a  substance  essentially  different  from  the 
body,  and  which  can  have  no  affinity  with  it,  their 
union  would  be,  not  a  mystery,  but  a  thing  impos- 
sible. Besides,  this  soul,  being  of  an  essence  dif- 
ferent from  that  of  the  body,  ought  to  act  neces- 
sarily in  a  different  way  from  it.  However,  we  see 
that  the  movements  of  the  body  are  felt  by  this 
pretended  soul,  and  that  these  two  substances,  so 
different  in  essence,  always  act  in  .harmony.  You 
will  tell  us  that  this  harmony  is  a  mystery  ;  and  I 
will  tell  you  that  I  do  not  see  my  soul,  that  I  know 
and  feel  but  my  body  ;  that  it  is  my  body  which 
feels,  which  reflects,  which  judges,  which  suffers,  and 
which  enjoys,  and  that  all  of  its  faculties  are  the 
necessary  results  of  its  own  mechanism  or  of  its 
organization. 


138  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CI. — THE  EXISTENCE  OF  A  SOUL  IS  AN  ABSURD 
SUPPOSITION,  AND  THE  EXISTENCE  OF  AN 
IMMORTAL  SOUL  IS  A  STILL  MORE  ABSURD 
SUPPOSITION. 

Although  it  is  impossible  for  men  to  have  the 
least  idea  of  the  soul,  or  of  this  pretended  spirit 
which  animates  them,  they  persuade  themselves, 
however,  that  this  unknown  soul  is  exempt  from 
death  ;  everything  proves  to  them  that  they  feel, 
think,  acquire  ideas,  enjoy  or  suffer,  but  by  the 
means  of  the  senses  or  of  the  material  organs  of 
the  body.  Even  admitting  the  existence  of  this 
soul,  one  can  not  refuse  to  recognize  that  it  de- 
pends wholly  on  the  body,  and  suffers  conjointly 
with  it  all  the  vicissitudes  which  it  experiences  it- 
self; and  however  it  is  imagined  that  it  has  by  its 
nature  nothing  analogous  with  it  ;  it  is  pretended 
that  it  can  act  and  feel  without  the  assistance  of 
this  body;  that  deprived  of  this  body  and  robbed 
of  its  senses,  this  soul  will  be  able  to  live,  to  enjoy, 
to  suffer,  be  sensitive  of  enjoyment  or  of  rigorous 
torments.  Upon  such  a  tissue  of  conjectural  ab- 
surdities the  wonderful  opinion  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul  is  built. 

If  I  ask  what  ground  we  have  for  supposing  that 
the  soul  is  immortal :  they  reply,  it  is  because  man 
by  his  nature  desires  to  be  immortal,  or  to  live  for- 
ever. But  I  rejoin,  if  you  desire  anything  very 
much,  is  it  sufficient  to  conclude  that  this  desire 
will  be  fulfilled  ?  By  what  strange  logic  do  they 
decide  that  a  thing  can  not  fail  to  happen  because 


//  is  Evident  that  the  Whole  of  Man  Dies.     1 39 

they  ardently  desire  it  to  happen  ?  Man's  childish 
desires  of  the  imagination,  are  they  the  measure 
of  reality?  Impious  people,  you  say,  deprived  of 
the  flattering  hopes  of  another  life,  desire  to  be 
annihilated.  Well,  have  they  not  just  as  much 
right  to  conclude  by  this  desire  that  they  will  be 
annihilated,  as  you  to  conclude  that  you  will  exist 
forever  because  you  desire  it  ? 

^CII.— IT   IS   EVIDENT   THAT  THE   WHOLE   OF 

MAN   DIES. 

Man  dies  entirely.  Nothing  is  more  evident  to 
him  who  is  not  delirious.  The  human  body,  after 
death,  is  but  a  mass,  incapable  of  producing  any 
movements  the  union  of  which  constitutes  life. 
We  no  longer  see  circulation,  respiration,  digestion, 
speech,  or  reflection.  It  is  claimed  then  that  the 
soul  has  separated  itself  from  the  body.  But  to 
say  that  this  soul,  which  is  unknown,  is  the  prin- 
ciple of  life,  is  saying  nothing,  unless  that  an  un- 
known force  is  the  invisible  principle  of  impercep- 
tible movements.  Nothing  is  more  natural  and 
more  simple  than  to  believe  that  the  dead  man 
lives  no  more,  nothing  more  absurd  than  to  believe 
that  the  dead  man  is  still  living. 

We  ridicule  the  simplicity  of  some  nations  whose 
fashion  is  to  bury  provisions  with  the  dead — under 
the  idea  that  this  food  might  be  useful  and  neces- 
sary to  them  in  another  life.  Is  it  more  ridiculous 
or  more  absurd  to  believe  that  men  will  eat  after 
death  than  to  imagine  that  they  will  think ;  that 
they  will  have  agreeable  or  disagreeable  ideas  ;  that 


140  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

they  will  enjoy;  that  they  will  suffer;  that  they 
will  be  conscious  of  sorrow  or  joy  when  the  organs 
which  produce  sensations  or  ideas  are  dissolved  and 
reduced  to  dust?  To  claim  that  the  souls  of  men 
will  be  happy  or  unhappy  after  the  death  of  the 
body,  is  to  pretend  that  man  will  be  able  to  see 
without  eyes,  to  hear  without  ears,  to  taste  with- 
out a  palate,  to  smell  without  a  nose,  and  to  feel 
without  hands  and  without  skin.  Nations  who 
believe  themselves  very  rational,  adopt,  neverthe- 
less, such  ideas. 

cm. — INCONTESTABLE   PROOFS   AGAINST  THE 
SPIRITUALITY   OF  THE   SOUL. 

The  dogma  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  as- 
sumes that  the  soul  is  a  simple  substance,  a  spirit ; 
but  I  will  always  ask,  what  is  a  spirit  ?  It  is,  you 
say,  a  substance  deprived  of  expansion,  incorrupti- 
ble, and  which  has  nothing  in  common  with  matter. 
But  if  this  is  true,  how  came  your  soul  into  exist- 
ence ?  how  did  it  grow  ?  how  did  it  strengthen  ? 
how  weaken  itself,  get  out  of  order,  and  grow  old 
with  your  body  ?  In  reply  to  all  these  questions, 
you  say  that  they  are  mysteries  ;  but  if  they  are 
mysteries,  you  understand  nothing  about  them.  If 
you  do  not  understand  anything  about  them,  how 
can  you  positively  affirm  anything  about  them  ?  In 
order  to  believe  or  to  affirm  anything,  it  is  neces- 
sary at  least  to  know  what  that  consists  of  which 
we  believe  and  which  we  affirm.  To  believe  in  the 
existence  of  your  immaterial  soul,  is  to  say  that 
you  are  persuaded  of  the  existence  of  a  thing  of 


The  Absurdity  of  Supernatural  Causes.     141 

which  it  is  impossible  for  you  to  form  any  true 
idea ;  it  is  to  believe  in  words  without  attaching 
any  sense  to  them ;  to  affirm  that  the  thing  is  as 
you  claim,  is  the  highest  folly  or  assumption. 

CIV. — THE  ABSURDITY  OF  SUPERNATURAL  CAUSES, 
WHICH  THEOLOGIANS  CONSTANTLY  CALL  TO 
THEIR   AID. 

Are  not  theologians  strange  reasoners?  As  soon 
as  they  can  not  guess  the  natural  causes  of  things, 
they  invent  causes,  which  they  call  supernatural ; 
they  imagine  them  spirits,  occult  causes,  inexplica- 
ble agents,  or  rather  words  much  more  obscure  than 
the  things  which  they  attempt  to  explain.  Let  us 
remain  in  nature  when  we  desire  to  understand  its 
phenomena ;  let  us  ignore  the  causes  which  are  too 
delicate  to  be  seized  by  our  organs ;  and  let  us  be 
assured  that  by  seeking  outside  of  nature  we  can 
never  find  the  solution  of  nature's  problems.  Even 
upon  the  theological  hypothesis — that  is  to  say, 
supposing  an  Almighty  motor  in  matter  —  what 
right  have  theologians  to  refuse  their  God  the 
power  to  endow  this  matter  with  thought  ?  Would 
it  be  more  difficult  for  Him  to  create  combinations 
of  matter  from  which  results  thought,  than  spirits 
which  think?  At  least,  in  supposing  a  substance 
endowed  with  thought,  we  could  form  some  idea 
of  the  object  of  our  thoughts,  or  of  what  thinks  in 
us ;  while  attributing  thought  to  an  immaterial 
being,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  form  the  least  idea 
of  it. 


142  Common  Sense  ^  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

CV. — IT   IS   FALSE   THAT   MATERIALISM   CAN   BE 
DEBASING  TO   THE   HUMAN   RACE, 

Materialism,  it  is  objected,  makes  of  man  a  mere 
machine,  which  is  considered  very  debasing  to  the 
human  race.  But  will  the  human  race  be  more 
honored  when  it  can  be  said  that  man  acts  by  the 
secret  impulsions  of  a  spirit,  or  a  certain  something 
which  animates  him  without  his  knowing  how  ?  It 
is  easy  to  perceive  that  the  superiority  which  is 
given  to  mind  over  matter,  or  to  the  soul  over  the 
body,  is  based  upon  the  ignorance  of  the  nature  of 
this  soul ;  while  we  are  more  familiarized  with  mat- 
ter or  the  body,  which  we  imagine  we  know, 
and  of  which  we  believe  we  have  understood  the 
springs ;  but  the  most  simple  movements  of  our 
bodies  are,  for  every  thinking  man,  enigmas  as  dif- 
ficult to  divine  as  thought. 

CVI. — CONTINUATION. 

The  esteem  which  so  many  people  have  for  the 
spiritual  substance,  appears  to  result  from  the  im- 
possibility they  find  in  defining  it  in  an  intelligible 
way.  The  contempt  which  our  metaphysicians 
show  for  matter,  comes  from  the  fact  that  "  famil- 
iarity breeds  contempt."  When  they  tell  us  that 
the  soul  is  more  excellent  and  noble  than  the  body, 
they  tell  us  nothing,  except  that  what  they  know 
nothing  about  must  be  more  beautiful  than  that  of 
which  they  have  some  faint  ideas. 


The  Dogma  of  Another  Life  Profits  Priests.    143 

CVII. — THE  DOGMA  OF  ANOTHER  LIFE  IS  USEFlfL 
BUT  FOR  THOSE  WHO  PROFIT  BY  IT  AT  THE 
EXPENSE   OF   THE   CREDULOUS   PUBLIC. 

We  are  constantly  told  of  the  usefulness  of  the 
dogma  of  life  hereafter.  It  is  pretended  that  even 
if  it  should  be  a  fiction,  it  is  advantageous,  becaiise 
it  imposes  upon  men  and  leads  them  to  virtue. 
But  is  it  true  that  this  dogma  renders  men  wiser 
and  more  virtuous?  The  nations  where  this  fiction 
is  established,  are  they  remarkable  for  the  moral- 
ity of  their  conduct?  Is  not  the  visible  world  al- 
ways preferred  to  the  invisible  world  ?  If  those 
who  are  charged  to  instruct  and  to  govern  men 
had  themselves  enlightenment  and  virtue,  they 
would  govern  them  far  better  by  realities  than  by 
vain  chimeras ;  but  deceitful,  ambitious,  and  cor- 
rupt, the  legislators  found  it  everywhere  easier  to 
put  the  nations  to  sleep  by  fables  than  to  teach 
them  truths  ;  than  to  develop  their  reason  ;  than  to 
excite  them  to  virtue  by  sensible  and  real  motives  ; 
than  to  govern  them  in  a  reasonable  way. 

Theologians,  no  doubt,  have  had  reasons  for 
making  the  soul  immaterial.  They  needed  souls 
and  chimeras  to  populate  the  imaginary  regions 
which  they  have  discovered  in  the  other  life.  Ma- 
terial souls  would  have  been  subjected,  like  all 
bodies,  to  dissolution.  Moreover,  if  men  believe 
that  everything  is  to  perish  with  the  body,  the  ge- 
ographers of  the  other  world  would  evidently  lose 
the  chance  of  guiding  their  souls  to  this  unknown 
abode.    They  would  draw  no  profits  from  the  hopes 


144  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

with  which  they  feast  them,  and  from  the  terrors 
with  which  they  take  care  to  overwhelm  them.  If 
the  future  is  of  no  real  utility  to  the  human  race, 
it  is  at  least  of  the  greatest  advantage  to  those  who 
take  upon  themselves  the  responsibility  of  conduct- 
ing mankind  thither. 

CVIII. — IT  IS  FALSE  THAT  THE  DOGMA  OF  AN- 
OTHER LIFE  CAN  BE  CONSOLING;  AND  IF  IT 
WERE,  IT  WOULD  BE  NO  PROOF  THAT  THIS 
ASSERTION   IS   TRUE. 

But,  it  will  be  said,  is  not  the  dogma  of  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul  consoling  for  beings  who  often 
find  themselves  very  unhappy  here  below?  If  this 
should  be  an  illusion,  is  it  not  a  sweet  and  agreeable 
one  ?  Is  it  not  a  benefit  for  man  to  believe  that 
he  can  live  again  and  enjoy,  sometime,  the  happi- 
ness which  is  refused  to  him  on  earth  ?  Thus,  poor 
mortals !  you  make  your  wishes  the  measure  of  the 
truth  !  Because  you  desire  to  live  forever,  and  to 
be  happier,  you  conclude  from  thence  that  you  will 
live  forever,  and  that  you  will  be  more  fortunate  in 
an  unknown  world  than  in  the  known  world,  in 
which  you  so  often  suffer!  Consent,  then,  to  leave 
v/ithout  regret  this  world,  which  causes  more 
trouble  than  pleasure  to  the  majority  of  you. 
Resign  yourselves  to  the  order  of  destiny,  which 
decrees  that  you,  like  all  other  beings,  should  not 
endure  forever.  But  what  will  become  of  me  ?  you 
ask  !  What  you  were  several  millions  of  years  ago. 
You  were  then,  I  do  not  know  what ;  resign  your- 
selves, then,  to  become  again  in  an  instant,  I  do  not 


No  Proof  that  Another  Life  is  Consoling     145 

know  what ;  what  you  were  then  ;  return  peaceably 
*o  the  universal  home  from  which  you  came  with- 
out your  knowledge  into  your  material  form,  and 
pass  by  without  murmuring,  like  all  the  beings 
which  surround  you  ! 

We  are  repeatedly  told  that  religious  ideas  offer 
infinite  consolation  to  the  unfortunate ;  it  is  pre- 
tended that  the  idea  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
and  of  a  happier  life  has  a  tendency  to  lift  up  the 
heart  of  man  and  to  sustain  him  in  the  midst  of  the 
adversities  with  which  he  is  assailed  in  this  life. 
Materialism,  on  the  contrary,  is,  we  are  told,  an  af- 
flicting system,  tending  to  degrade  man,  which 
ranks  him  among  brutes ;  which  destroys  his  cour- 
age, whose  only  hope  is  complete  annihilation, 
tending  to  lead  him  to  despair,  and  inducing  him  to 
commit  suicide  as  soon  as  he  suffers  in  this  world. 
The  grand  policy  of  theologians  is  to  blow  hot  and 
to  blow  cold,  to  afflict  and  to  console,  to  frighten 
and  to  reassure. 

According  to  the  fictions  of  theology,  the  regions 
of  the  other  life  are  happy  and  unhappy.  Nothing 
more  difficult  than  to  render  one  worthy  of  the 
abode  of  felicity;  nothing  easier  than  to  obtain  a 
place  in  the  abode  of  torments  that  Divinity  pre- 
pares for  the  unfortunate  victims  of  His  eternal 
fury.  Those  who  find  the  idea  of  another  life  so 
flattering  and  so  sweet,  have  they  then  forgotten 
that  this  other  life,  according  to  them,  is  to  be  accom- 
panied by  torments  for  the  majority  of  mortals  ? 
Is  not  the  idea  of  total  annihilation  infinitely  pref- 
erable to  the  idea  of  an  eternal  existence  accom- 


146  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslicr. 

panied  with  suffering  and  gnashing  of  teeth  ?  The 
fear  of  ceasing  to  exist,  is  it  more  afflicting  than 
the  thought  of  having  not  always  been  ?  The  fear 
of  ceasing  to  be  is  but  an  evil  for  the  imagination, 
which  alone  brought  forth  the  dogma  of  another 
life. 

You  say,  O  Christian  philosophers,  that  the  idea  of 
a  happier  life  is  delightful ;  we  agree  ;  there  is  no  one 
who  would  not  desire  a  more  agreeable  and  a  more 
durable  existence  than  the  one  we  enjoy  here  below. 
But,  if  Paradise  is  tempting,  you  will  admit,  also, 
that  hell  is  frightful.  It  is  very  difficult  to  merit 
heaven,  and  very  easy  to  gain  hell.  Do  you  not 
say  that  one  straight  and  narrow  path  leads  to  the 
happy  regions,  and  that  a  broad  road  leads  to  the 
regions  of  the  unhappy  ?  Do  you  not  constantly 
tell  us  that  the  number  of  the  chosen  ones  is  very 
small,  and  that  of  the  damned  is  very  large  ?  Do 
we  not  need,  in  order  to  be  saved,  such  grace  as 
your  God  grants  to  but  few  ?  Well !  I  tell  you  that 
these  ideas  are  by  no  means  consoling  ;  I  prefer  to 
be  annihilated  at  once  rather  than  to  burn  forever; 
I  will  tell  you  that  the  fate  of  beasts  appears  to  me 
more  desirable  than  the  fate  of  the  damned ;  I  will 
tell  you  that  the  belief  which  delivers  me  from 
overwhelming  fears  in  this  world,  appears  to  me  more 
desirable  than  the  uncertainty  in  which  I  am  left 
through  belief  in  a  God  who,  master  of  His  favors, 
gives  them  but  to  His  favorites,  and  who  permits 
all  the  others  to  render  themselves  worthy  of  eter- 
nal punishments.  It  can  be  but  blind  enthusiasm 
or  folly  that  can  prefer  a  system  which  evidently 


Religious  Principles  are  Imaginary.         147 

encourages    improbable   conjectures,   accompanied 
by  uncertainty  and  desolating  fear. 

Cix. — ALL  RELIGIOUS  PRINCIPLES  ARE  IMAGI- 
NARY. INNATE  SENSE  IS  BUT  THE  EFFECT 
OF  A  ROOTED  HABIT.  GOD  IS  AN  IDLE  FAN- 
CY, AND  THE  QUALITIES  WHICH  ARE  LAV- 
ISHED  UPON   HIM   DESTROY   EACH   OTHER. 

All  religious  principles  are  a  thing  of  imagina- 
tion, in  which  experience  and  reason  have  nothing 
to  do.  We  find  much  difficulty  in  conquering 
them,  because  imagination,  when  once  occupied  in 
creating  chimeras  which  astonish  or  excite  it,  is  in- 
capable of  reasoning.  He  who  combats  religion 
and  its  phantasies  by  the  arms  of  reason,  is  like  a 
man  who  uses  a  sword  to  kill  flies :  as  soon  as  the 
blow  is  struck,  the  flies  and  the  fancies  return  to 
the  minds  from  which  we  thought  to  have  banished 
them. 

As  soon  as  we  refuse  the  proofs  which  theology 
pretends  to  give  of  the  existence  of  a  God,  they  op- 
pose to  the  arguments  which  destroy  them,  an  in- 
nate conviction,  a  profound  persuasion,  an  invinci- 
ble inclination  inherent  in  every  man,  which  brings 
to  him,  in  spite  of  himself,  the  idea  of  an  Almighty 
being  which  he  can  not  altogether  expel  from  his 
mind,  and  which  he  is  compelled  to  recognize  in  spite 
of  the  strongest  reasons  that  we  can  give  him.  But 
if  we  wish  to  analyze  this  innate  conviction,  upon 
which  so  much  weight  is  placed,  we  will  find  that  it  is 
but  the  effect  of  a  rooted  habit,  which,  making  them 
close   their   eyes  against  the    most  demonstrative 


148  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

pi  oofs,  leads  the  majority  of  men,  and  often  the  most 
enlightened  ones,  back  to  the  prejudices  of  child- 
nood.  What  can  this  innate  sense  or  this  ill-founded 
persuasion  prove  against  the  evidence  which  shows 
us  that  what  implies  contradiction  can  not  exist? 

We  are  told,  very  gravely,  that  it  is  not  demon- 
strated that  God  does  not  exist.  However,  nothing 
is  better  demonstrated,  notwithstanding  all  that  men 
have  told  us  so  far,  than  that  this  God  is  an  idle  fan- 
cy, whose  existence  is  totally  impossible,  as  nothing 
is  more  evident  or  more  clearly  demonstrated  than 
that  a  being  can  not  combine  qualities  so  dissimi- 
lar, so  contradictory,  so  irreconcilable  as  those 
which  all  the  religions  of  the  earth  ascribe  to  Di- 
vinity. The  theologian's  God,  as  well  as  the  God  of 
the  theist,  is  He  not  evidently  a  cause  incompatible 
with  the  effects  attributed  to  Him  ?  In  whatever 
light  we  may  look  upon  it,  we  must  either  invent 
another  God,  or  conclude  that  the  one  which,  for 
so  many  centuries,  has  been  revealed  to  mortals,  is 
at  the  same  time  very  good  and  very  wicked,  very 
powerful  and  very  weak,  immutable  and  change- 
able, perfectly  intelligent  and  perfectly  destitute 
of  reason,  of  plan,  and  of  means;  the  friend  of  or- 
der and  permitting  disorder;  very  just  and  very  un- 
just ;  very  skillful  and  very  awkward.  Finally,  are 
we  not  obliged  to  admit  that  it  is  impossible  to 
reconcile  the  discordant  attributes  which  are  heaped 
upon  a  being  of  whom  we  can  not  say  a  single  word 
without  falling  into  the  most  palpable  contradic- 
tions? Let  us  attempt  to  attribute  but  a  single 
quality  to  Divinity,  and  what  is  said  of  it  will  be 


Every  Religion  is  Imaginary.  149 

contradicted  immediately  by  the  effects  we  assign 
to  this  cause. 

ex. — EVERY  RELIGION  IS  BUT  A  SYSTEM  IMAG- 
INED FOR  THE  PURPOSE  OF  RECONCILING 
CONTRADICTIONS   BY  THE  AID  OF  MYSTERIES. 

Theology  could  very  properly  be  defined  as  the 
science  of  contradictions.  Every  religion  is  but  a 
system  imagined  for  the  purpose  of  reconciling  ir- 
reconcilable ideas.  By  the  aid  of  habitude  and  ter- 
ror, we  come  to  persist  in  the  greatest  absurdities, 
even  when  they  are  the  most  clearly  exposed.  All 
religions  are  easy  to  combat,  but  very  difficult  to 
eradicate.  Reason  can  do  nothing  against  habit, 
which  becomes,  as  is  said,  a  second  nature.  There 
are  many  persons  otherwise  sensible,  who,  even  after 
having  examined  the  ruinous  foundations  of  their 
belief,  return  to  it  in  spite  of  the  most  striking  argu- 
ments. 

As  soon  as  we  complain  of  not  understanding 
religion,  finding  in  it  at  every  step  absurdities 
which  are  repulsive,  seeing  in  it  but  impossibilities, 
we  are  told  that  we  are  not  made  to  conceive  the 
truths  of  the  religion  which  is  proposed  to  us  ; 
that  wandering  reason  is  but  an  unfaithful  guide, 
only  capable  of  conducting  us  to  perdition  ;  and 
what  is  more,  we  are  assured  that  what  is  folly  in 
the  eyes  of  man,  is  wisdom  in  the  eyes  of  God,  to 
whom  nothing  is  impossible.  Finally,  in  order  to 
decide  by  a  single  word  the  most  insurmountable 
difficulties  which  theology  presents  to  us  on  all  sides, 
they  simply  cry  out :  "  Mysteries  !  " 


150  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CXI. — ABSURDITY  AND  INUTILITY  OF  THE  MYS- 
TERIES FORGED  IN  THE  SOLE  INTEREST  OF 
THE   PRIESTS. 

What  is  a  mystery  ?  If  I  examine  the  thing 
closely,  I  discover  very  soon  that  a  mystery  is  noth- 
ing but  a  contradiction,  a  palpable  absurdity,  a  no- 
torious impossibility,  on  which  theologians  wish  to 
compel  men  to  humbly  close  the  eyes  ;  in  a  word, 
a  mystery  is  whatever  our  spiritual  guides  can  not 
explain  to  us. 

It  is  advantageous  for  the  ministers  of  religion 
that  the  people  should  not  comprehend  what  they 
are  taught.  It  is  impossible  for  us  to  examine  what 
we  do  not  comprehend.  Every  time  that  we  can 
not  see  clearly,  we  are  obliged  to  be  guided.  If 
religion  was  comprehensible,  priests  would  not  have 
so  many  charges  here  below. 

No  religion  is  without  mysteries  ;  mystery  is  its 
essence  ;  a  religion  destitute  of  mysteries  would  be 
a  contradiction  of  terms.  The  God  which  serves 
as  a  foundation  to  natural  religion,  to  theism  or  to 
deism,  is  Himself  the  greatest  mystery  to  a  mind 
wishing  to  dwell  upon  Him. 

CXII. — CONTINUATION. 

All  the  revealed  religions  which  we  see  in  the 
world  are  filled  with  mysterious  dogmas,  unintelli- 
gible principles,  of  incredible  miracles,  of  astonish- 
ing tales  which  seem  imagined  but  to  confound 
reason.  Every  religion  announces  a  concealed  God, 
whose  essence  is  a  mystery;  consequently,  it  is  just 


Mystery  the  Essence  of  Religion.  1 5  \ 

as  difficult  to  conceive  of  His  conduct  as  of  the 
essence  of  this  God  Himself.  Divinity  has  never 
spoken  to  us  but  in  an  enigmatical  and  mysterious 
way  in  the  various  religions  which  have  been 
founded  in  the  different  regions  of  our  globe.  It 
has  revealed  itself  everywhere  but  to  announce 
mysteries,  that  is  to  say,  to  warn  mortals  that  it 
designs  that  they  should  believe  in  contradictions, 
in  impossibilities,  or  in  things  of  which  they  were 
incapable  of  forming  any  positive  idea. 

The  more  mysteries  a  religion  has,  the  more  in- 
credible objects  it  presents  to  the  mind,  the  better 
fitted  it  is  to  please  the  imagination  of  men,  who 
find  in  it  a  continual  pasturage  to  feed  upon.  The 
more  obscure  a  religion  is,  the  more  it  appears  di- 
vine, that  is  to  say,  in  conformity  to  the  nature  of 
an  invisible  being,  of  whom  we  have  no  idea. 

It  is  the  peculiarity  of  ignorance  to  prefer  the 
unknown,  the  concealed,  the  fabulous,  the  wonder- 
ful, the  incredible,  even  the  terrible,  to  that  which 
is  clear,  simple,  and  true.  Truth  does  not  give  to 
the  imagination  such  lively  play  as  fiction,  which 
each  one  may  arrange  as  he  pleases.  The  vulgar 
ask  nothing  better  than  to  listen  to  fables  ;  priests 
and  legislators,  by  inventing  religions  and  forging 
mysteries  from  them,  have  served  them  to  their 
taste.  In  this  way  they  have  attracted  enthusiasts, 
women,  and  the  illiterate  generally.  Beings  of  this 
kind  resign  easily  to  reasons  which  they  are  inca- 
pable of  examining;  the  love  of  the  simple  and  the 
true  is  found  but  in  the  small  number  of  those 
whose  imagination  is  regulated  by  study  and  by  re- 


152  Common  Sense y  by  Jean  Meslier. 

flection.  The  inhabitants  of  a  village  are  never  more 
pleased  with  their  pastor  than  when  he  mixes  a 
good  deal  of  Latin  in  his  sermon.  Ignorant  men 
always  imagine  that  he  who  speaks  to  them  of 
things  which  they  do  not  understand,  is  a  very  wise 
and  learned  man.  This  is  the  true  principle  of  the 
credulity  of  nations,  and  of  the  authority  of  those 
who  pretend  to  guide  them. 

CXIII. — CONTINUATION. 

To  speak  to  men  to  announce  to  them  mysteries, 
is  to  give  and  retain,  it  is  to  speak  not  to  be  under- 
stood. He  who  talks  but  by  enigmas,  either  seeks 
to  amuse  himself  by  the  embarrassment  which  he 
causes,  or  finds  it  to  his  advantage  not  to  explain 
himself  too  clearly.  Every  secret  betrays  suspicion, 
weakness,  and  fear.  Princes  and  their  ministers  make 
a  mystery  of  their  projects  for  fear  that  their  ene- 
mies in  penetrating  them  would  cause  them  to  fail. 
Can  a  good  God  amuse  Himself  by  the  embarrass- 
ment of  His  creatures  ?  A  God  who  enjoys  a  power 
which  nothing  in  the  world  can  resist,  can  He  ap- 
prehend that  His  intentions  could  be  thwarted  ? 
What  interest  would  He  have  in  putting  upon  us 
enigmas  and  mysteries  ?  We  are  told  that  man, 
by  the  weakness  of  his  nature,  is  not  capable  of 
comprehending  the  Divine  economy  which  can  be 
to  him  but  a  tissue  of  mysteries  ;  that  God  can  not 
unveil  secrets  to  him  which  are  beyond  his  reach. 
In  this  case,  I  reply,  that  man  is  not  made  to  trouble 
himself  with  Divine  economy,  that  this  economy 
can  not  interest  him  in  the  least,  that  he  has  no 


Every  Sect   Thinks  all  Others  Foolish.      153 

need  of  mysteries  which  he  can  not  understand ; 
finally,  that  a  mysterious  religion  is  not  made  for 
him,  any  more  than  an  eloquent  discourse  is  made 
for  a  flock  of  sheep. 


CXIV. — A   UNIVERSAL   GOD   SHOULD   HAVE   RE- 
VEALED  A   UNIVERSAL   RELIGION. 

Divinity  has  revealed  itself  in  the  different  parts 
of  our  globe  in  a  manner  of  such  little  uniformity, 
that  in  matters  of  religion  men  look  upon  each 
other  with  hatred  and  disdain.  The  partisans  of 
the  different  sects  see  each  other  very  ridiculous 
and  foolish.  The  most  respected  mysteries  in  one 
religion  are  laughable  for  another.  God,  having 
revealed  Himself  to  men,  ought  at  least  to  speak  in 
the  same  language  to  all,  and  relieve  their  weak 
minds  of  the  embarrassment  of  seeking  what  can 
be  the  religion  which  truly  emanated  from  Him,  or 
what  is  the  most  agreeable  form  of  worship  in  His 
eyes. 

A  universal  God  ought  to  have  revealed  a  uni- 
versal religion.  By  what  fatality  are  so  many  dif- 
ferent religions  found  on  the  earth  ?  Which  is  the 
true  one  amongst  the  great  number  of  those  of 
which  each  one  pretends  to  be  the  right  one,  to  the 
exclusion  of  all  the  others?  We  have  every  reason 
to  believe  that  not  one  of  them  enjoys  this  advan- 
tage. The  divisions  and  the  disputes  about  opin- 
ions are  indubitable  signs  of  the  uncertainty  and  of 
the  obscurity  of  the  principles  which  they  profess. 


154  Common  Setise,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CXV. — THE   PROOF  THAT    RELIGION    IS    NOT  NEC- 
ESSARY, IS  THAT   IT   IS   UNINTELLIGIBLE. 

If  religion  was  necessary  to  all  men,  it  ought  to 
be  intelligible  to  all  men.  If  this  religion  was  the 
most  important  thing  for  them,  the  goodness  of 
God,  it  seems,  ought  to  make  it  for  them  the  clear- 
est, the  most  evident,  and  the  best  demonstrated 
of  all  things.  Is  it  not  astonishing  to  see  that  this 
matter,  so  essential  to  the  salvation  of  mortals,  is 
precisely  the  one  which  they  understand  the  least, 
and  about  which,  during  so  many  centuries,  their 
doctors  have  disputed  the  most  ?  Never  have 
priests,  of  even  the  same  sect,  come  to  an  agree- 
ment among  themselves  about  the  manner  of  un- 
derstanding the  wishes  of  a  God  who  has  truly  re- 
vealed Himself  to  them.  The  world  which  we  in- 
habit can  be  compared  to  a  public  place,  in  whose 
different  parts  several  charlatans  are  placed,  each 
one  straining  himself  to  attract  customers  by  de- 
preciating the  remedies  offered  by  his  competitors. 
Each  stand  has  its  purchasers,  who  are  persuaded 
that  their  empiric  alone  possesses  the  good  reme- 
dies ;  notwithstanding  the  continual  use  which  they 
make  of  them,  they  do  not  perceive  that  they  are 
no  better,  or  that  they  are  just  as  sick  as  those  who 
run  after  the  charlatans  of  another  stand.  Devo- 
tion is  a  disease  of  the  imagination,  contracted  in 
infancy ;  the  devotee  is  a  hypochondriac,  who  in- 
creases his  disease  by  the  use  of  remedies.  The 
wise  man  takes  none  of  it ;  he  follows  a  good  regi- 
men and  leaves  the  rest  to  nature. 


All  Religions  are  Ridiculed.  155 

CXVl. — ALL  RELIGIONS  ARE  RIDICULED  BY  THOSE 
OF  OPPOSITE  THOUGH  EQUALLY  INSANE  BE- 
LIEF. 


J 


Nothing  appears  more  ridiculous  in  the  eyes  of  a 
sensible  man  than  for  one  denomination  to  criticise 
another  whose  creed  is  equally  foolish.  A  Chris- 
tian thinks  that  the  Koran,  the  Divine  revelation 
announced  by  Mohammed,  is  but  a  tissue  of  imper- 
tinent dreams  and  impostures  injurious  to  Divinity. 
The  Mohammedan,  on  his  side,  treats  the  Christian 
as  an  idolater  and  a  dog ;  he  sees  but  absurdities  in 
his  religion ;  he  imagines  he  has  the  right  to  con- 
quer his  country  and  force  him,  sword  in  hand,  to 
accept  the  faith  of  his  Divine  prophet ;  he  believes 
especially  that  nothing  is  more  impious  or  more 
unreasonable  than  to  worship  a  man  or  to  believe 
in  the  Trinity.  The  Protestant  Christian,  who  with- 
out scruple  worships  a  man,  and  who  believes  firmly 
in  the  inconceivable  mystery  of  the  Trinity,  ridi- 
cules the  Catholic  Christian  because  the  latter  be- 
lieves in  the  mystery  of  the  transubstantiation.  He 
treats  him  as  a  fool,  as  ungodly  and  idolatrous,  be- 
cause he  kneels  to  worship  the  bread  in  which  he 
believes  he  sees  the  God  of  the  universe.  All  the 
Christian  denominations  agree  in  considering  as 
folly  the  incarnation  of  the  God  of  the  Indies, 
Vishnu.  They  contend  that  the  only  true  incarna- 
tion is  that  of  Jesus,  Son  of  the  God  of  the  universe 
and  of  the  wife  of  a  carpenter.  The  theist,  who 
calls  himself  a  votary  of  natural  religion,  is  satisfied 
to  acknowledge  a  God  of  whom  he  has  no  concep- 


156  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

tion ;  indulges  himself  in  jesting  upon  other  mys- 
teries taught  by  all  the  religions  of  the  world. 


CXVII. — OPINION   OF  A  CELEBRATED  THEOLOGIAN. 

Did  not  a  famous  theologian  recognize  the  ab- 
surdity of  admitting  the  existence  of  a  God  and 
arresting  His  course  ?  "  To  us,"  he  said,  "  who  be- 
lieve through  faith  in  a  true  God,  an  individual 
substance,  there  ought  to  be  no  trouble  in  believ- 
ing everything  else.  This  first  mystery,  which  is 
no  small  matter  of  itself,  once  admitted,  our  reason 
can  not  suffer  violence  in  admitting  all  the  rest. 
As  for  myself,  it  is  no  more  trouble  to  accept  a 
million  of  things  that  I  do  not  understand,  than  to 
believe  the  first  one." 

Is  there  anything  more  contradictory,  more  im- 
possible, or  more  mysterious,  than  the  creation  of 
matter  by  an  immaterial  Being,  who  Himself  immu- 
table, causes  the  continual  changes  that  we  see  in 
the  world  ?  Is  there  anything  more  incompatible 
with  all  the  ideas  of  common  sense  than  to  believe 
that  a  good,  wise,  equitable,  and  powerful  Being 
presides  over  nature  and  directs  Himself  the  move- 
ments of  a  world  which  is  filled  with  follies,  mis- 
eries, crimes,  and  disorders,  which  He  could  have 
foreseen,  and  by  a  single  word  could  have  prevented 
or  made  to  disappear  ?  Finally,  as  soon  as  we 
admit  a  Being  so  contradictory  as  the  theological 
God,  what  right  have  we  to  refuse  to  accept  the 
most  improbable  fables,  the  most  astonishing  mira- 
cles, the  most  profound  mysteries  ? 


The  Deist's  God  Cotitradtctory.  157 

CXVIII. — THE  deist's  GOD  IS  NO  LESS  CONTRA- 
DICTORY, NO  LESS  FANCIFUL,  THAN  THE  THE- 
OLOGIAN'S  GOD. 

The  theist  exclaims,  "  Be  careful  not  to  worship 
the  ferocious  and  strange  God  of  theology ;  mine 
is  much  wiser  and  better ;  He  is  the  Father  of  men  ; 
He  is  the  mildest  of  Sovereigns ;  it  is  He  who  fills 
the  universe  with  His  benefactions  !  "  But  I  will  tell 
him,  do  you  not  see  that  everything  in  this  world 
contradicts  the  good  qualities  which  you  attribute 
to  your  God  ?  In  the  numerous  family  of  this  mild 
Father  I  see  but  unfortunate  ones.  Under  the 
empire  of  this  just  Sovereign  I  see  crime  victorious 
and  virtue  in  distress.  Among  these  benefactions, 
which  you  boast  of,  and  which  your  enthusiasm 
alone  sees,  I  see  a  multitude  of  evils  of  all  kinds, 
upon  which  you  obstinately  close  your  eyes.  Com- 
pelled to  acknowledge  that  your  good  God,  in  con- 
tradiction with  Himself,  distributes  with  the  same 
hand  good  and  evil,  you  will  find  yourself  obliged, 
in  order  to  justify  Him,  to  send  me,  as  the  priests 
would,  to  the  other  life.  Invent,  then,  another 
God  than  the  one  of  theology,  because  your  God 
is  as  contradictory  as  its  God  is.  A  good  God  who 
does  evil  or  who  permits  it  to  be  done,  a  God  full 
of  equity  and  in  an  empire  where  innocence  is  so 
often  oppressed  ;  a  perfect  God  who  produces  but 
imperfect  and  wretched  works;  such  a  God  and 
His  conduct,  are  they  not  as  great  mysteries  as  that 
of  the  incarnation  ?  You  blush,  you  say,  for  your 
fellow  beings  who  are  persuaded  that  the  God  of 
the  universe  could  change  Himself  into  a  man  and 


158  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

die  upon  a  cross  in  a  corner  of  Asia.  You  consider 
the  ineffable  mystery  of  the  Trinity  very  absurd 
Nothing  appears  more  ridiculous  to  you  than  a  God 
who  changes  Himself  into  bread  and  who  is  eaten 
every  day  in  a  thousand  different  places. 

Well !  are  all  these  mysteries  any  more  shocking 
to  reason  than  a  God  who  punishes  and  rewards 
men's  actions  ?  Man,  according  to  your  views,  is  he 
free  or  not  ?  In  either  case  your  God,  if  He  has  the 
shadow  of  justice,  can  neither  punish  him  nor  re- 
ward him.  If  man  is  free,  it  is  God  who  made  him 
free  to  act  or  not  to  act ;  it  is  God,  then,  who  is 
the  primitive  cause  of  all  his  actions;  in  punishing 
man  for  his  faults,  He  would  punish  him  for  having 
done  that  which  He  gave  him  the  liberty  to  do. 
If  man  is  not  free  to  act  otherwise  than  he  does, 
would  not  God  be  the  most  unjust  of  beings  to 
punish  him  for  the  faults  which  he  could  not  help 
committing?  Many  persons  are  struck  with  the 
detail  of  absurdities  with  which  all  religions  of  the 
world  are  filled ;  but  they  have  not  the  courage  to 
seek  for  the  source  whence  these  absurdities  neces- 
sarily sprung.  They  do  not  see  that  a  God  full  of 
contradictions,  of  oddities,  of  incompatible  quali- 
ties, either  inflaming  or  nursing  the  imagination  of 
men,  could  create  but  a  long  line  of  idle  fancies. 

CXIX. — WE  DO  NOT  PROVE  AT  ALL  THE  EXIST- 
ENCE OF  A  GOD  BY  SAYING  THAT  IN  ALL 
AGES  EVERY  NATION  HAS  ACKNOWLEDGED 
SOME   KIND   OF  DIVINTT^'. 

They  believe,  to  silence  those  who  deny  the  ex- 


We  do  not  Prove  the  Exist mce  of  God.     159 

istence  of  a  God,  by  telling  them  that  all  men,  in 
all  ages  and  in  all  centuries,  have  believed  in  some 
kind  of  a  God  ;  that  there  is  no  people  on  the  earth 
who  have  not  believed  in  an  invisible  and  powerful 
being,  whom  they  made  the  object  of  their  worship 
and  of  their  veneration  ;  finally,  that  there  is  no  na- 
tion, no  matter  how  benighted  we  may  suppose  it 
to  be,  that  is  not  persuaded  of  the  existence  of  some 
intelligence  superior  to  human  nature.  But  can  the 
belief  of  all  men  change  an  error  into  truth?  A 
celebrated  philosopher  has  said  with  all  reason  : 
"  Neither  general  tradition  nor  the  unanimous  con- 
sent of  all  men  could  place  any  injunction  upon 
truth."*  Another  wise  man  said  before  him,  that 
"  an  army  of  philosophers  would  not  be  sufficient 
to  change  the  nature  of  error  and  to  make  it  truth. "f 
There  was  a  time  when  all  men  believed  that  the 
sun  revolved  around  the  earth,  while  the  latter  re- 
mained motionless  in  the  center  of  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  the  universe ;  it  is  scarcely  more  than  two 
hundred  years  since  this  error  was  refuted.  There  was 
a  time  when  nobody  would  believe  in  the  existence 
of  antipodes,  and  when  they  persecuted  those  who 
had  the  courage  to  sustain  it ;  to-day  no  learned 
man  dares  to  doubt  it.  All  nations  of  the  world, 
except  some  men  less  credulous  than  others,  still 
believe  in  sorcerers,  ghosts,  apparitions,  spirits ;  no 
sensible  man  imagines  himself  obliged  to  adopt 
these  follies;  but  the  most  sensible  people  feel 
obliged  to  believe  in  a  universal  Spirit ! 


Bayle.  \  Averro^ 


i6o  Common  Sense  ^  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

CXX. — ALL  THE  GODS  ARE  OF  A  BARBAROUS  OR- 
IGIN; ALL  RELIGIONS  ARE  ANTIQUE  MONU- 
MENTS OF  IGNORANCE,  SUPERSTITION,  AND 
FEROCITY  ;  AND  MODERN  RELIGIONS  ARE 
BUT   ANCIENT   FOLLIES   REVIVED. 

All  the  Gods  worshiped  by  men  have  a  barba- 
rous origin  ;  they  were  visibly  imagined  by  stupid 
nations,  or  were  presented  by  ambitious  and  cunning 
legislators  to  simple  and  benighted  people,  who  had 
neither  the  capacity  nor  the  courage  to  examine 
properly  the  object  which,  by  means  of  terrors, 
they  were  made  to  worship.  In  examining  closely 
the  God  which  we  see  adored  still  in  our  days  by 
the  most  civilized  nations,  we  are  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge that  He  has  evidently  barbarous  feat- 
ures. To  be  barbarous  is  to  recognize  no  right  but 
force ;  it  is  being  cruel  to  excess  ;  it  is  but  follow- 
ing one's  own  caprice  ;  it  is  a  lack  of  foresight,  of 
prudence,  and  reason.  Nations,  who  believe  your- 
selves civilized  !  do  you  not  perceive  this  frightful 
character  of  the  God  to  whom  you  offer  your  in- 
cense? The  pictures  which  are  drawn  of  Divinity, 
are  they  not  visibly  borrowed  from  the  implacable, 
jealous,  vindictive,  blood-thirsty,  capricious,  incon- 
siderate humor  of  man,  who  has  not  yet  cultivated 
his  reason  ?  Oh,  men !  you  worship  but  a  great 
savage,  whom  you  consider  as  a  model  to  follow, 
as  an  amiable  master,  as  a  perfect  sovereign. 

The  religious  opinions  of  men  in  every  country 
are  antique  and  durable  monuments  of  ignorance 
credulity,  of  the  terrors  and  the  ferocity  of  their 


All  Religious  Ceremonies  Barbarous.        i6i 

ancestors.  Every  barbarian  is  a  child  thirsting  for 
the  wonderful,  which  he  imbibes  with  pleasure,  and 
who  never  reasons  upon  that  which  he  finds  proper 
to  excite  his  imagination ;  his  ignorance  of  the 
ways  of  nature  makes  him  attribute  to  spirits,  to 
enchantments,  to  magic,  all  that  appears  to  him 
extraordinary  ;  in  his  eyes  his  priests  are  sorcerers, 
in  whom  he  supposes  an  Almighty  power ;  before 
whom  his  confused  reason  humiliates  itself,  whose 
oracles  are  for  him  infallible  decrees,  to  contradict 
which  would  be  dangerous.  In  matters  of  relig- 
ion the  majority  of  men  have  remained  in  their 
primitive  barbarity.  Modern  religions  are  but 
follies  of  old  times  rejuvenated  or  presented  in 
some  new  form.  If  the  ancient  barbarians  have 
worshiped  mountains,  rivers,  serpents,  trees,  fe- 
tiches of  every  kind  ;  if  the  wise  Egyptians  wor- 
shiped crocodiles,  rats,  onions,  do  we  not  see  na- 
tions who  believe  themselves  wiser  than  they,  wor- 
ship with  reverence  a  bread,  into  which  they  imag- 
ine that  the  enchantments  of  their  priests  cause  the 
Divinity  to  descend  ?  Is  not  the  God-bread  the 
fetich  of  many  Christian  nations,  as  little  rational 
in  this  point  as  that  of  the  most  barbarous  nations? 


vl 


CXXI. — ALL    RELIGIOUS    CEREMONIES     BEAR    THE 
SEAL   OF   STUPIDITY   OR   BARBARITY. 


In  all  times  the  ferocity,  the  stupidity,  the  folly 
of  savage  men  were  shown  in  religious  customs 
which  were  often  cruel  and  extravagant.  A  spirit 
of  barbarity  has  come  down  to  our  days ;  it  intrudes 
itself  into  the  religions  which  are  followed  by  the 


l62  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

most  civilized  nations.  Do  we  not  still  see  human 
victims  offered  to  Divinity  ?  In  order  to  appease 
the  wrath  of  a  God  whom  we  suppose  as  fero- 
cious, as  jealous,  as  vindictive,  as  a  savage,  do  not 
sanguinary  laws  cause  the  destruction  of  those  who 
are  believed  to  have  displeased  Him  by  their  way 
of  thinking? 

Modern  nations,  at  the  instigation  of  their  priests, 
have  even  excelled  the  atrocious  folly  of  the  most 
barbarous  nations ;  at  least  do  we  not  find  that  it 
never  entered  into  a  savage's  mind  to  torment  for 
the  sake  of  opinions,  to  meddle  in  thought,  to 
trouble  men  for  the  invisible  actions  of  their  brains  ? 

When  we  see  polished  and  wise  nations,  such  as 
the  English,  French,  German,  etc.,  notwithstanding 
all  their  enlightenment,  continue  to  kneel  before 
the  barbarous  God  of  the  Jews,  that  is  to  say,  of 
the  most  stupid,  the  most  credulous,  the  most  sav- 
age, the  most  unsocial  nation  which  ever  was  on 
the  earth  ;  when  we  see  these  enlightened  nations 
divide  themselves  into  sects,  tear  one  another,  hate 
and  despise  each  other  for  opinions,  equally  ridicu- 
lous, upon  the  conduct  and  the  intentions  of  this  ir- 
rational God  ;  when  we  see  intelligent  persons  oc- 
cupy themselves  foolishly  in  meditating  on  the 
wishes  of  this  capricious  and  foolish  God ;  we  are 
tempted  to  exclaim,  "  Oh,  men  !  you  are  still  sav- 
ages !  Oh,  men  !  you  are  but  children  in  the  mat- 
ter of  religion !  " 


Ancient  Religious  Opinion  Suspicious,       163 

CXXII. — THE  MORE  ANCIENT  AND  GENERAL  A 
RELIGIOUS  OPINION  IS,  THE  GREATER  THE 
REASON   FOR   SUSPECTING   IT. 

Whoever  has  formed  true  ideas  of  the  ignorance, 
credulity,  negligence,  and  sottishness  of  common  peo- 
ple, will  always  regard  their  religious  opinions  with 
the  greater  suspicion  for  their  being  generally  estab- 
lished. The  majority  of  men  examine  nothing;  they 
allow  themselves  to  be  blindly  led  by  custom  and 
authority;  their  religious  opinions  are  specially  those 
which  they  have  the  least  courage  and  capacity  to 
examine  ;  as  they  do  not  understand  anything  about 
them,  they  are  compelled  to  be  silent  or  put  an 
end  to  their  reasoning.  Ask  the  common  man  if 
he  believes  in  God.  He  will  be  surprised  that  you 
could  doubt  it.  Then  ask  him  what  he  under- 
stands by  the  word  God.  You  will  confuse  him ; 
you  will  perceive  at  once  that  he  is  incapable  of 
forming  any  real  idea  of  this  word  which  he  so  oft- 
en repeats ;  he  will  tell  you  that  God  is  God,  and 
you  will  find  that  he  knows  neither  what  he  thinks 
of  Him,  nor  the  motives  which  he  has  for  believing 
in  Him. 

All  nations  speak  of  a  God  ;  but  do  they  agree 
upon  this  God  ?  No  .'  Well,  difference  of  opinion 
does  not  serve  as  evidence,  but  is  a  sign  of  uncer- 
tainty and  obscurity.  Does  the  same  man  always 
agree  with  himself  in  his  ideas  of  God  ?  No  !  This 
idea  varies  with  the  vicissitudes  of  his  life.  This 
is  another  sign  of  uncertainty.  Men  always  agree 
with  other  men  and  with  themselves  upon  demon- 


164  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

strated  truths,  regardless  of  the  position  in  which 
they  find  themselves  ;  except  the  insane,  all  agree 
that  two  and  two  make  four,  that  the  sun  shines, 
that  the  whole  is  greater  than  any  one  of  its  parts, 
that  justice  is  a  benefaction,  that  we  must  be  be- 
nevolent to  deserve  the  love  of  men,  that  injustice 
and   cruelty  are  incompatible  with  goodness.     Do 
they  agree  in  the  same  way  if  they  speak  of  God  ? 
All  that  they  think  or  say  of  Him  is  immediately 
contradicted  by  the  effects  which  they  wish  to  at- 
tribute to  Him.    Tell  several  artists  to  paint  a  chi- 
mera, each  of  them  will  form  different  ideas  of  it, 
and  will  paint  it  differently  ;  you  will  find  no  re- 
semblance in  the  features  each  of  them  will  have 
given  to  a  portrait  whose  model  exists  nowhere. 
In  painting  God,  do  any  of  the  theologians  of  the 
world   represent   Him    otherwise   than  as  a  great 
chimera,   upon  whose  features  they  never   agree, 
each  one  arranging  it  according  to  his  style,  which 
has  its  origin  but  in  his  own  brain  ?     There  are  no 
two  individuals  in  the  world  who  have  or  can  have 
the  same  ideas  of  their  God. 

CXXIII. — SKEPTICISM  IN  THE  MATTER  OF  RELIG- 
ION, CAN  BE  THE  EFFECT  OF  BUT  A  SUPER- 
FICIAL EXAMINATION  OF  THEOLOGICAL  PRIN- 
CIPLES. 

Perhaps  it  would  be  more  truthful  to  say,  that 
all  men  are  either  skeptics  or  atheists,  than  to  pre- 
tend that  they  are  firmly  convinced  of  the  existence 
of  a  God.  How  can  we  be  assured  of  the  existence 
of  a  being  whom  we  never  have  been  able  to  exam- 


Examination  of  Theological  Principles.      165 

ine,  of  whom  it  is  impossible  to  form  any  perma- 
nent idea,  whose  different  effects  upon  ourselves 
prevent  us  from  forming  an  invariable  judgment, 
of  whom  no  idea  can  be  uniform  in  two  different 
brains  ?  How  can  we  claim  to  be  completely  per- 
suaded of  the  existence  of  a  being  to  whom  we  are 
constantly  obliged  to  attribute  a  conduct  opposed 
£o  the  ideas  which  we  had  tried  to  form  of  it  ?  Is 
it  possible  firmly  to  believe  what  we  can  not  con- 
ceive ?  In  believing  thus,  are  we  not  adhering  to 
the  opinions  of  others  without  having  one  of  our 
own?  The  priests  regulate  the  belief  of  the  vulgar ; 
but  do  not  these  priests  themselves  acknowledge 
that  God  is  incomprehensible  to  them  ?  Let  us 
conclude,  then,  that  the  conviction  of  the  existence 
of  a  God  is  not  as  general  as  it  is  affirmed  to  be. 

To  be  a  skeptic,  is  to  lack  the  motives  necessary 
to  establish  a  judgment.  In  view  of  the  proofs 
which  seem  to  establish,  and  of  the  arguments 
which  combat  the  existence  of  a  God,  some  per- 
sons prefer  to  doubt  and  to  suspend  their  judg- 
ment ;  but  at  the  bottom,  this  uncertainty  is  the 
result  of  an  insufficient  examination.  Is  it,  then, 
possible  to  doubt  evidence  ?  Sensible  people  de- 
ride, and  with  reason,  an  absolute  pyrrhonism,  and 
even  consider  it  impossible.  A  man  who  could 
doubt  his  own  existence,  or  that  of  the  sun,  would 
appear  very  ridiculous,  or  would  be  suspected  of 
reasoning  in  bad  faith.  Is  it  less  extravagant  to 
have  uncertainties  about  the  non-existence  of  an 
evidently  impossible  being  ?  Is  it  more  absurd  to 
doubt  of  one's  own  existence,  than  to  hesitate  upon 


1 66  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

the  impossibility  of  a  being  whose  qualities  de- 
stroy each  other?  Do  we  find  more  probabilities 
for  believing  in  a  spiritual  being  than  for  believing 
in  the  existence  of  a  stick  without  two  ends  ?  Is 
the  notion  of  an  infinitely  good  and  powerful  being 
who  permits  an  infinity  of  evils,  less  absurd  or  less 
impossible  than  that  of  a  square  triangle  ?  Let  us 
conclude,  then,  that  religious  skepticism  can  be  but 
the  effect  of  a  superficial  examination  of  theologi- 
cal principles,  which  are  in  a  perpetual  contradic- 
tion of  the  clearest  and  best  demonstrated  princi- 
ples! To  doubt  is  to  deliberate  upon  the  judgment 
which  we  should  pass.  Skepticism  is  but  a  state 
of  indecision  which  results  from  a  superficial  ex- 
amination of  subjects.  Is  it  possible  to  be  skeptical 
in  the  matter  of  religion  when  we  design  to  return 
to  its  principles,  and  look  closely  into  the  idea  of 
the  God  who  serves  as  its  foundation  ?  Doubt 
arises  ordinarily  from  laziness,  weakness,  indiffer- 
ence, or  incapacity.  To  doubt,  for  many  people,  is 
to  dread  the  trouble  of  examining  things  to  which 
one  attaches  but  little  interest.  Although  religion 
is  presented  to  men  as  the  most  important  thing 
for  them  in  this  world  as  well  as  in  the  other,  skep- 
ticism and  doubt  on  this  subject  can  be  for  the  mind 
but  a  disagreeable  state,  and  offers  but  a  comfort- 
able cushion.  No  man  who  has  not  the  courage 
to  contemplate  without  prejudice  the  God  upon 
whom  every  religion  is  founded,  can  know  what  re- 
ligion to  accept ;  he  does  not  know  what  to  believe 
and  what  not  to  believe,  to  accept  or  to  reject, 
what  to  hope  or  fear ;  finally,  he  is  incompetent  to 
judge  for  himself. 


Revelation  Refjited.  167 

Indifference  upon  religion  can  not  be  confounded 
w  ith  skepticism  ;  this  indifference  itself  is  founded 
upon  the  assurance  or  upon  the  probability  which 
we  find  in  believing  that  religion  is  not  made  to 
interest  us.  The  persuasion  which  we  have  that  a 
thing  which  is  presented  to  us  as  very  important,  is 
not  so,  or  is  but  indifferent,  supposes  a  sufficient 
examination  of  the  thing,  without  which  it  would 
be  impossible  to  have  this  persuasion.  Those  who 
call  themselves  skeptics  in  regard  to  the  fundamen- 
tal points  of  religion,  are  generally  but  idle  and  lazy 
men,  who  are  incapable  of  examining  them. 

CXXIV. —  REVELATION  REFUTED. 

In  all  parts  of  the  world,  we  are  assured  that  God 
revealed  Himself.  What  did  He  teach  men  ?  Does 
He  prove  to  them  evidently  that  He  exists?  Does 
He  tell  them  where  He  resides  ?  Does  He  teach 
them  what  He  is,  or  of  what  His  essence  consists  ? 
Does  He  explain  to  them  clearly  His  intentions 
and  His  plan  ?  What  He  says  of  this  plan,  does  it 
agree  with  the  effects  which  we  see  ?  No  !  He 
informs  us  only  that  "He  is  the  One  that  is,"* 
that  He  is  an  invincible  God,  that  His  ways  are 
ineffable,  that  He  becomes  furious  as  soon  as  one 
has  the  temerity  to  penetrate  His  decrees,  or  to 
consult  reason  in  order  to  judge  of  Him  or  His 
works.  Does  the  revealed  conduct  of  God  corre- 
spond with  the  magnificent  ideas  which  are  given 
to   us   of  His  wisdom,  goodness,  justice,   of  His 


♦  I  am  that  I  am,  saith  the  Lord. 


1 68  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

omnipotence  ?  Not  at  all ;  in  every  revelation  this 
conduct  shows  a  partial,  capricious  being,  at  least, 
good  to  His  favorite  people,  an  enemy  to  all  others. 
If  He  condescends  to  show  Himself  to  some  men, 
He  takes  care  to  keep  all  the  others  in  invincible 
ignorance  of  His  divine  intentions.  Does  not  every 
special  revelation  announce  an  unjust,  partial,  and 
malicious  God  ? 

Are  the  revealed  wishes  of  a  God  capable  of 
striking  us  by  the  sublime  reason  or  the  wisdom 
which  they  contain  ?  Do  they  tend  to  the  happi- 
ness of  the  people  to  whom  Divinity  has  declared 
them  .'*  Examining  the  Divine  wishes,  I  find  in 
them,  in  all  countries,  but  whimsical  ordinances, 
ridiculous  precepts,  ceremonies  of  which  we  do  not 
understand  the  aim,  puerile  practices,  principles  of 
conduct  unworthy  of  the  Monarch  of  Nature,  offer- 
ings, sacrifices,  expiations,  useful,  in  fact,  to  the 
ministers  of  God,  but  very  onerous  to  the  rest  of 
mankind.  I  find  also,  that  they  often  have  a  ten- 
dency to  render  men  unsocial,  disdainful,  intoler- 
ant, quarrelsome,  unjust,  inhuman  toward  all  those 
who  have  not  received  either  the  same  revelations 
as  they,  or  the  same  ordinances,  or  the  same  favors 
from  Heaven. 

CXXV. — WHERE,  THEN,  IS  THE  PROOF  THAT  GOD 
DID  EVER  SHOW  HIMSELF  TO  MEN  OR  SPEAK 
TO   THEM  ? 

Are  the  precepts  of  morality  as  announced  by 
Divinity  truly  Divine,  or  superior  to  those  which 
every  rational  man  could  imagine  ?     They  are  Di- 


Nothittg  Establishes  the  Truth  of  Miracles.   1 69 

vine  only  because  it  is  impossible  for  the  human 
mind  to  see  their  utility.  Their  virtue  consists  in 
a  total  renunciation  of  human  nature,  in  a  volun- 
tary oblivion  of  one's  reason,  in  a  holy  hatred  of 
self;  finally,  these  sublime  precepts  show  us  per- 
fection in  a  conduct  cruel  to  ourselves  and  perfectly 
useless  to  others. 

How  did  God  show  Himself?  Did  He  Himself 
promulgate  His  laws  ?  Did  He  speak  to  men  with 
His  own  mouth  ?  I  am  told  that  God  did  not 
show  Himself  to  a  whole  nation,  but  that  He  em- 
ployed always  the  organism  of  a  few  favored  per- 
sons, who  took  the  care  to  teach  and  to  explain 
His  intentions  to  the  unlearned.  It  was  never  per- 
mitted to  the  people  to  go  to  the  sanctuary;  the 
ministers  of  the  Gods  always  alone  had  the  right 
to  report  to  them  what  transpired. 

CXXVl. — NOTHING   ESTABLISHES   THE   TRUTH   OF 

MIRACLES. 

If,  in  the  economy  of  all  Divine  revelations,  I  am 
unable  to  recognize  either  the  wisdom,  the  goodness, 
or  the  equity  of  a  God  ;  if  I  suspect  deceit,  ambition, 
selfish  designs  in  the  great  personages  who  have 
interposed  between  Heaven  and  us,  I  am  assured  that 
God  has  confirmed,  by  splendid  miracles,  the  mis- 
sion of  those  who  have  spoken  for  Him.  But  was  it 
not  much  easier  to  show  Himself,  and  to  explain  for 
Himself?  On  the  other  hand,  if  I  have  the  curi- 
osity to  examine  these  miracles,  I  find  that  they 
are  tales  void  of  probability,  related  by  suspicious 
people,  who  had  the  greatest   interest  in  making 


170  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

others  believe  that  they  were  sent  from  the  Most 
High. 

What  witnesses  are  referred  to  in  order  to  make  us 
believe  incredible  miracles?  They  call  as  witnesses 
stupid  people,  who  have  ceased  to  exist  for  thou- 
sands of  years,  and  who,  even  if  they  could  attest 
the  miracles  in  question,  would  be  suspected  of 
having  been  deceived  by  their  own  imagination, 
and  of  permitting  themselves  to  be  seduced  by 
the  illusions  which  skillful  impostors  performed  be- 
fore their  eyes.  But,  you  will  say,  these  miracles 
are  recorded  in  books  which  through  constant  tra- 
dition have  been  handed  down  to  us.  By  whom 
were  these  books  written  ?  Who  are  the  men  who 
have  transmitted  and  perpetuated  them  ?  They 
are  either  the  same  people  who  established  these 
religions,  or  those  who  have  become  their  adherents 
and  their  assistants.  Thus,  in  the  matter  of  relig- 
ion, the  testimony  of  interested  parties  is  irrefraga- 
ble and  can  not  be  contested  ! 

CXXVII. — IF  GOD  HAD  SPOKEN,  IT  WOULD  BE 
STRANGE  THAT  HE  HAD  SPOKEN  DIFFERENT- 
LY TO  ALL  THE  ADHERENTS  OF  THE  DIFFER- 
ENT SECTS,  WHO  DAMN  EACH  OTHER,  WHO 
ACCUSE  EACH  OTHER,  WITH  REASON,  OF  SU- 
PERSTITION  AND   IMPIETY. 

^  God  has  spoken  differently  to  each  nation  of  the 
globe  which  we  inhabit.  The  Indian  does  not  be- 
lieve one  word  of  what  He  said  to  the  Chinaman  ; 
the  Mohammedan  considers  what  He  has  told  to 
the  Christian  as  fables  ;  the  Jew  considers  the  Mo- 


God  Speaks  Differently  to  All.  171 

hammedan  and  the  Christian  as  sacrilegious  cor- 
rupters of  the  Holy  Law,  which  his  God  has  given 
to  his  fathers.  The  Christian,  proud  of  his  more 
modern  revelation,  equally  damns  the  Indian  and 
the  Chinaman,  the  Mohammedan,  and  even  the 
Jew,  whose  holy  books  he  holds.  Who  is  wrong 
or  right  ?  Each  one  exclaims  :  "  It  is  I  !  "  Every 
one  claims  the  same  proofs  ;  each  one  speaks  of 
his  miracles,  his  saints,  his  prophets,  his  mar- 
tyrs. Sensible  men  answer,  that  they  are  all  delir- 
ious ;  that  God  has  not  spoken,  if  it  is  true  that 
He  is  a  Spirit  who  has  neither  mouth  nor  tongue  ; 
that  the  God  of  the  Universe  could,  without  bor- 
rowing mortal  organism,  inspire  His  creatures  with 
what  He  desired  them  to  learn,  and  that,  as  they 
are  all  equally  ignorant  of  what  they  ought  to  think 
about  God,  it  is  evident  that  God  did  not  want  to 
instruct  them.  The  adherents  of  the  different  forms 
of  worship  which  we  see  established  in  this  world, 
accuse  each  other  of  superstition  and  of  ungodli- 
ness. The  Christians  abhor  the  superstition  of  the 
heathen,  of  the  Chinese,  of  the  Mohammedans.  The 
Roman  Catholics  treat  the  Protestant  Christians  as 
impious  ;  the  latter  incessantly  declaim  against  Ro- 
man superstition.  They  are  all  right.  To  be  im- 
pious, is  to  have  unjust  opinions  about  the  God 
who  is  adored  ;  to  be  superstitious,  is  to  have 
false  ideas  of  Him.  In  accusing  each  other  of 
superstition,  the  different  religionists  resemble 
humpbacks  who  taunt  each  other  with  their  mal- 
formation. 


172  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CXXVIII. — OBSCURE  AND   SUSPICIOUS   ORIGIN   OF 

ORACLES. 

The  oracles  which  the  Deity  has  revealed  to  the 
nations  through  His  different  mediums,  are  they 
clear  ?  Alas  !  there  are  not  two  men  who  under- 
stand them  alike.  Those  who  explain  them  to 
others  do  not  agree  among  themselves  ;  in  order 
to  make  them  clear,  they  have  recourse  to  interpre- 
tations, to  commentaries,  to  allegories,  to  parables, 
in  which  is  found  a  mystical  sense  very  different 
from  the  literal  one.  Men  are  needed  everywhere 
to  explain  the  wishes  of  God,  who  could  not  or 
would  not  explain  Himself  clearly  to  those  whom 
He  desired  to  enlighten.  God  always  prefers  to 
use  as  mediums  men  who  can  be  suspected  of  hav- 
ing been  deceived  themselves,  or  having  reasons  to 
deceive  others. 

CXXIX. — ABSURDITY   OF   PRETENDED   MIRACLES. 

The  founders  of  all  religions  have  usually  proved 
their  mission  by  miracles.  But  what  is  a  miracle? 
It  is  an  operation  directly  opposed  to  the  laws  of 
nature.  But,  according  to  you,  who  has  made 
these  laws?  It  is  God.  Thus  your  God,  who,  ac- 
cording to  you,  has  foreseen  everything,  counter- 
acts the  laws  which  His  wisdom  had  imposed  upon 
nature !  These  laws  were  then  defective ,  or  at 
least  in  certain  circumstances  they  were  but  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  views  of  this  same  God,  for  you 
tell  us  that  He  thought  He  ought  to  suspend  or 
counteract  them. 


Absurdity  of  Pretended  Miracles.  173 

An  attempt  is  made  to  persuade  us  that  men 
who  have  been  favored  by  the  Most  High  have  re- 
ceived from  Him  the  power  to  perform  miracles  ; 
but  in  order  to  perform  a  miracle,  it  is  necessary  to 
have  the  faculty  of  creating  new  causes  capable  of 
producing  effects  opposed  to  those  which  ordinary 
causes  can  produce.  Can  we  realize  how  God  can 
give  to  men  the  inconceivable  power  of  creating 
causes  out  of  nothing?  Can  it  be  believed  that  an 
unchangeable  God  can  communicate  to  man  the 
power  to  change  or  rectify  His  plan,  a  power  which, 
according  to  His  essence,  an  immutable  being  can 
not  have  himself?  Miracles,  far  from  doing  much 
honor  to  God,  far  from  proving  the  Divinity  of  re- 
ligion, destroy  evidently  the  idea  which  is  given  to 
us  of  God,  of  His  immutability,  of  His  incommuni- 
cable attributes,  and  even  of  His  omnipotence. 
How  can  a  theologian  tell  us  that  a  God  who  em- 
braced at  once  the  whole  of  His  plan,  who  could 
make  but  perfect  laws,  who  can  change  nothing  in 
them,  should  be  obliged  to  employ  miracles  to  make 
His  projects  successful,  or  grant  to  His  creatures 
the  faculty  of  performing  prodigies,  in  order  to  ex- 
ecute His  Divine  will?  Is  it  probable  that  a  God 
needs  the  support  of  men?  An  Omnipotent  Being, 
whose  wishes  are  always  gratified,  a  Being  who  holds 
in  His  hands  the  hearts  and  the  minds  of  His  creat- 
ures, needs  but  to  wish,  in  order  to  make  them  be- 
lieve all  He  desires. 


174  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CXXX.— REFUTATION  OF  PASCAL'S  MANNER  OF 
REASONING  AS  TO  HOW  WE  SHOULD  JUDGE 
MIRACLES. 

What  should  we  say  of  religions  that  based  their 
Divinity  upon  miracles  which  they  themselves  cause 
to  appear  suspicious?  How  can  we  place  any  faith 
in  the  miracles  related  in  the  Holy  Books  of  the 
Christians,  where  God  Himself  boasts  of  hardening 
hearts,  of  blinding  those  whom  He  wishes  to  ruin  ; 
where  this  God  permits  wicked  spirits  and  magicians 
to  perform  as  wonderful  miracles  as  those  of  His 
servants;  where  it  is  prophesied  that  the  Anti- 
Christ  will  have  the  power  to  perform  miracles  ca- 
pable of  destroying  the  faith  even  of  the  elect? 
This  granted,  how  can  we  know  whether  God 
wants  to  instruct  us  or  to  lay  a  snare  for  us?  How 
can  we  distinguish  whether  the  wonders  which  we 
see,  proceed  from  God  or  the  Devil?  Pascal,  in 
order  to  disembarrass  us,  says  very  gravely,  that 
we  must  judge  the  doctrine  by  miracles,  and  the 
miracles  by  the  doctrine ;  that  doctrine  judges  the 
miracles,  and  the  miracles  judge  the  doctrine.  If 
there  exists  a  defective  and  ridiculous  circle,  it  is  no 
doubt  in  this  fine  reasoning  of  one  of  the  greatest 
defenders  of  the  Christian  religion.  Which  of  all 
the  religions  in  the  world  does  not  claim  to  possess 
the  most  admirable  doctrine,  and  which  does  not 
bring  to  its  aid  a  great  number  of  miracles? 

Is  a  miracle  capable  of  destroying  a  demon- 
strated truth  ?  Although  a  man  should  have  the 
secret  of  curing  all  diseases,  of  making  the  lame 


Every  New  Revelation  Necessarily  False.     175 

to  walk,  of  raising  all  the  dead  of  a  city,  of  float- 
ing in  the  air,  of  arresting  the  course  of  the  sun 
and  of  the  moon,  will  he  be  able  to  convince  me  by 
all  this  that  two  and  two  do  not  make  four ;  that 
one  makes  three  and  that  three  makes  but  one  ;  that 
a  God  who  fills  the  universe  with  His  immensity, 
could  have  transformed  Himself  into  the  body  of  a 
Jew ;  that  the  eternal  can  perish  like  man  ;  that  an 
immutable,  foreseeing,  and  sensible  God  could  have 
changed  His  opinion  upon  His  religion,  and  reform 
His  own  work  by  a  new  revelation  ? 

CXXXI. — EVEN  ACCORDING  TO  THE  PRINCIPLES 
OF  THEOLOGY  ITSELF,  EVERY  NEW  REVELA- 
TION SHOULD  BE  REFUTED  AS  FALSE  AND 
IMPIOUS. 

According  to  the  principles  of  theology  itself, 
whether  natural  or  revealed,  every  new  revelation 
ought  to  be  considered  false ;  every  change  in  a 
religion  which  had  emanated  from  the  Deity  ought 
to  be  refuted  as  ungodly  and  blasphemous.  Does 
not  every  reform  suppose  that  God  did  not  know  how 
at  the  start  to  give  His  religion  the  required  solidi- 
ty and  perfection  ?  To  say  that  God  in  giving  a  first 
law  accommodated  Himself  to  the  gross  ideas  of  a 
people  whom  He  wished  to  enlighten,  is  to  pretend 
that  God  neither  could  nor  would  make  the  people 
whom  He  enlightened  at  that  time,  as  reasonable 
as  they  ought  to  be  to  please  Him. 

Christianity  is  an  impiety,  if  it  is  true  that  Ju- 
daism as  a  religion  really  emanated  from  a  Holy, 
Immutable,  Almighty,  ^ind  Foreseeing  God.  Christ's 


1/6  Co}mno}i  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

religion  implies  either  defects  in  the  law  that  God 
Himself  gave  by  Moses,  or  impotence  or  malice  in 
this  God  who  could  not,  or  would  not  make  the  Jews 
as  they  ought  to  be  to  please  Him.  All  religions, 
whether  new,  or  ancient  ones  reformed,  are  evident- 
ly founded  on  the  weakness,  the  inconstancy,  the 
imprudence,  and  the  malice  of  the  Deity. 

CXXXII. — EVEN  THE  BLOOD  OF  THE  MARTYRS, 
TESTIFIES  AGAINST  THE  TRUTH  OF  MIRA- 
CLES AND  AGAINST  THE  DIVINE  ORIGIN 
WHICH    CHRISTIANITY    CLAIMS. 

If  history  informs  me  that  the  first  apostles, 
founders  or  reformers  of  religions,  performed  great 
miracles,  history  teaches  me  also  that  these  reform- 
ing apostles  and  their  adherents  have  been  usually 
despised,  persecuted,  and  put  to  death  as  disturb- 
ers of  the  peace  of  nations.  I  am  then  tempted  to 
believe  that  they  have  not  performed  the  miracles 
attributed  to  them.  Finally,  these  miracles  should 
have  procured  to  them  a  great  number  of  disciples 
among  those  who  witnessed  them,  who  ought  to 
have  prevented  the  performers  from  being  mal- 
treated. My  incredulity  increases  if  I  am  told  that 
the  performers  of  miracles  have  been  cruelly  tor- 
mented or  slain.  How  can  we  believe  that  mis- 
sionaries, protected  by  a  God,  invested  with  His 
Divine  Power,  and  enjoying  the  gift  of  miracles, 
could  not  perform  the  simple  miracle  of  escaping 
from  the  cruelty  of  their  persecutors? 

Persecutions  themselves  are  considered  as  a  con- 
vincing proof  in  favor  of  the  religion  of  those  who 


The  Fanaticism  of  the  Martyrs.  lyj 

have  suffered  them  ;  but  a  religion  which  boasts 
of  having  caused  the  death  of  many  martyrs,  and 
which  informs  us  that  its  founders  have  suffered 
for  its  extension  unheard-of  torments,  can  not  be 
the  religion  of  a  benevolent,  equitable,  and  Al- 
mighty God.  A  good  God  would  not  permit  that 
men  charged  with  revealing  His  will  should  be  mis- 
used. An  omnipotent  God  desiring  to  found  a  re- 
ligion, would  have  employed  simpler  and  less  fatal 
means  for  His  most  faithful  servants.  To  say  that 
God  desired  that  His  religion  should  be  sealed  by 
blood,  is  to  say  that  this  God  is  weak,  unjust,  un- 
grateful, and  sanguinary,  and  that  He  sacrifices  un- 
worthily His  missionaries  to  the  interests  of  His 
ambition. 

CXXXIII. — THE  FANATICISM  OF  THE  MARTYRS, 
THE  INTERESTED  ZEAL  OF  MISSIONARIES, 
PROVE   IN   NOWISE   THE  TRUTH   OF  RELIGION. 

To  die  for  a  religion  does  not  prove  it  true  or 
Divine ;  this  proves  at  most  that  we  suppose  it  to 
be  so.  An  enthusiast  in  dying  proves  nothing  but 
that  religious  fanaticism  is  often  stronger  than  the 
love  of  life.  An  impostor  can  sometimes  die  with 
courage ;  he  makes  then,  as  is  said,  "  a  virtue  of 
necessity."  We  are  often  surprised  and  affected  at 
the  sight  of  the  generous  courage  and  the  disinter- 
ested zeal  which  have  led  missionaries  to  preach 
their  doctrine  at  the  risk  even  of  suffering  the  most 
rigorous  torments.  We  draw  from  this  love,  which 
is  exhibited  for  the  salvation  of  men,  deductions 
favorable   to   the   religion    which  they  have   pro- 


178  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

claimed ;  but  in  truth  this  disinterestedness  is  only 
apparent.  "  Nothing  ventured,  nothing  gained  !  " 
A  missionary  seeks  fortune  by  the  aid  of  his  doc- 
trine ;  he  knows  that  if  he  has  the  good  fortune  to 
retail  his  commodity,  he  will  become  the  absolute 
master  of  those  who  accept  him  as  their  guide ;  he 
is  sure  to  become  the  object  of  their  care,  of  their 
respect,  of  their  veneration ;  he  has  every  reason 
to  beheve  that  he  will  be  abundantly  provided  for. 
These  are  the  true  motives  which  kindle  the  zeal 
and  the  charity  of  so  many  preachers  and  mission- 
aries who  travel  all  over  the  world. 

To  die  for  an  opinion,  proves  no  more  the  truth 
or  the  soundness  of  this  opinion  than  to  die  in  a 
battle  proves  the  right  of  the  prince,  for  whose 
benefit  so  many  people  are  foolish  enough  to  sacri- 
fice themselves.  The  courage  of  a  martyr,  animated 
by  the  idea  of  Paradise,  is  not  any  more  supernat- 
ural than  the  courage  of  a  warrior,  inspired  with 
the  idea  of  glory  or  held  to  duty  by  the  fear  of 
disgrace.  What  difference  do  we  find  between  an 
Iroquois  who  sings  while  he  is  burned  by  a  slow 
fire,  and  the  martyr  St.  Lawrence,  who  while  upon 
the  gridiron  insults  his  tyrant  ? 

The  preachers  of  a  new  doctrine  succumb  be- 
cause they  are  not  the  strongest ;  the  apostles 
usually  practice  a  perilous  business,  whose  conse- 
quences they  can  foresee ;  their  courageous  death 
does  not  prove  any  more  the  truth  of  their  princi- 
ples or  their  own  sincerity,  than  the  violent  death 
of  an  ambitious  man  or  a  brigand  proves  that  they 
had  the  right  to  trouble  society,  or  that  they  be- 


Reason  is  Preferable  to  Faith.  179 

lieved  themselves  authorized  to  do  it.  A  mission- 
ary's profession  has  been  always  flattering  to  his 
ambition,  and  has  enabled  him  to  subsist  at  the 
expense  of  the  common  people;  these  advantages 
have  been  sufficient  to  make  him  forget  the  dangers 
which  are  connected  with  it. 

CXXXIV. — THEOLOGY  MAKES  OF  ITS  GOD  AN  EN- 
EMY OF  COMMON  SENSE  AND  OF  ENLIGHTEN- 
MENT. 

You  tell  US,  O  theologians !  that  "  what  is  folly 
in  the  eyes  of  men,  is  wisdom  before  God,  who  is 
pleased  to  confound  the  wisdom  of  the  wise."  But 
do  you  not  pretend  that  human  wisdom  is  a  gift 
from  Heaven  ?  In  telling  us  that  this  wisdom  dis- 
pleases God,  is  but  folly  in  His  eyes,  and  that  He 
wishes  to  confound  it,  you  proclaim  that  your  God 
is  but  the  friend  of  unenlightened  people,  and  that 
He  makes  to  sensible  people  a  fatal  gift,  for  which 
this  perfidious  Tyrant  promises  to  punish  them 
cruelly  some  day.  Is  it  not  very  strange  that  we 
can  not  be  the  friend  of  your  God  but  by  declaring 
ourselves  the  enemy  of  reason  and  common  sense  ? 

CXXXV.— FAITH  IS  IRRECONCILABLE  WITH  REA- 
SON, AND   REASON   IS   PREFERABLE   TO   FAITH. 

Faith,  according  to  theologians,  is  consent  with- 
out evidence.  From  this  it  follows  that  religion 
exacts  that  we  should  firmly  believe,  without  evi- 
dence, in  propositions  which  are  often  improbable 
or  opposed  to  reason.  But  to  challenge  reason  as 
a  judge  of  faith,  is  it  not  acknowledging  that  reason 


i8o  Co}nmon  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

can  not  agree  with  faith?  As  the  ministers  of  re- 
ligion have  determined  to  banish  reason,  they  must 
have  felt  the  impossibility  of  reconciling  reason 
with  faith,  which  is  visibly  but  a  blind  submission 
to  those  priests  whose  authority,  in  many  minds, 
appears  to  be  of  a  greater  importance  than  evidence 
itself,  and  preferable  to  the  testimony  of  the  senses. 
"  Sacrifice  your  reason ;  give  up  experience ;  dis- 
trust the  testimony  of  your  senses  ;  submit  without 
examination  to  all  that  is  given  to  you  as  coming 
from  Heaven."  This  is  the  usual  language  of  all 
the  priests  of  the  world ;  they  do  not  agree  upon 
any  point,  except  in  the  necessity  of  never  reason- 
ing when  they  present  principles  to  us  which  they 
claim  as  the  most  important  to  our  happiness. 

I  will  not  sacrifice  my  rcaso7i,  because  this  reason 
alone  enables  me  to  distinguish  good  from  evil,  the 
true  from  the  false.  If,  as  you  pretend,  my  reason 
comes  from  God,  I  will  never  believe  that  a  God 
whom  you  call  so  good,  had  ever  given  me  reason 
but  as  a  snare,  in  order  to  lead  me  to  perdition. 
Priests  !  in  crying  down  reason,  do  you  not  see  that 
you  slander  your  God,  who,  as  you  assure  us,  has 
given  us  this  reason  ? 

/  zvill  not  give  tip  experience,  because  it  is  a 
much  better  guide  than  imagination,  or  than  the 
authority  of  the  guides  whom  they  wish  to  give 
me.  This  experience  teaches  me  that  enthusiasm 
and  interest  can  blind  and  mislead  them,  and  that 
the  authority  of  experience  ought  to  have  more 
weight  upon  my  mind  than  the  suspicious  tes- 
timony of  many  men  whom  I  know  to  be  capable 


//  is  Absurd  to  Substitute  Faith  for  Reason.    i8] 

of  deceiving  themselves,  or  very  much  interested  in 
deceiving  others. 

/  will  not  distrust  my  senses.  I  do  not  ignore  the 
fact  that  they  can  sometimes  lead  me  into  error;  but 
on  the  other  hand,  I  know  that  they  do  not  deceive 
me  always.  I  know  very  well  that  the  eye  shows 
the  sun  much  smaller  than  it  really  is ;  but  experi- 
ence, which  is  only  the  repeated  application  of  the 
senses,  teaches  me  that  objects  continually  diminish 
by  reason  of  their  distance ;  it  is  by  these  means 
that  I  reach  the  conclusion  that  the  sun  is  much 
larger  than  the  earth  ;  it  is  thus  that  my  senses 
suffice  to  rectify  the  hasty  judgments  which  they 
induced  me  to  form.  In  warning  me  to  doubt  the 
testimony  of  my  senses,  you  destroy  for  me  the 
proofs  of  all  religion.  If  men  can  be  dupes  of  their 
imagination,  if  their  senses  are  deceivers,  why 
would  you  have  me  believe  in  the  miracles  which 
made  an  impression  upon  the  deceiving  senses  of 
our  ancestors?  If  my  senses  are  faithless  guides, 
I  learn  that  I  should  not  have  faith  even  in  the 
miracles  which  I  might  see  performed  under  my 
own  eyes. 

CXXXVI. — HOW  ABSURD  AND  RIDICULOUS  IS  THE 
SOPHISTRY  OF  THOSE  WHO  WISH  TO  SUBSTI- 
TUTE  FAITH   FOR   REASON. 

You  tell  me  continually  that  the  "  truths  of  re- 
ligion are  beyond  reason."  Do  you  not  admit,  then, 
that  these  truths  are  not  made  for  reasonable  be- 
ings? To  pretend  that  reason  can  deceive  us,  is 
to  say  that  truth  can  be  false,  that  usefulness  can 


1 82  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

be  injurious.  Is  reason  anything  else  but  the 
knowledge  of  the  useful  and  the  true  ?  Besides, 
as  we  have  but  our  reason,  which  is  more  or  less 
exercised,  and  our  senses,  such  as  they  are,  to  lead 
us  in  this  life,  to  claim  that  reason  is  an  unsafe 
guide,  and  that  our  senses  are  deceivers,  is  to  tell 
us  that  our  errors  are  necessary,  that  our  ignorance 
is  invincible,  and  that,  without  extreme  injustice, 
God  can  not  punish  us  for  having  followed  the 
only  guides  which  He  desired  to  give  us.  To  pre- 
tend that  we  are  obliged  to  believe  in  things  which 
are  beyond  our  reason,  is  an  assertion  as  ridiculous 
as  to  say  that  God  would  compel  us  to  fly  without 
wings.  To  claim  that  there  are  objects  on  which 
reason  should  not  be  consulted,  is  to  say  that  in 
the  most  important  affairs,  we  must  consult  but 
imagination,  or  act  by  chance. 

Our  Doctors  of  Divinity  tell  us  that  we  ought  to 
sacrifice  our  reason  to  God  ;  but  what  motives  can 
we  have  for  sacrificing  our  reason  to  a  being  who 
gives  us  but  useless  gifts,  which  He  does  not  in- 
tend that  we  should  make  use  of?  What  confi- 
dence can  we  place  in  a  God  who,  according  to  our 
Doctors  themselves,  is  wicked  enough  to  harden 
hearts,  to  strike  us  with  blindness,  to  place  snares 
in  our  way,  to  lead  us  into  temptation  ?  Finally, 
how  can  we  place  confidence  in  the  ministers  of 
this  God,  who,  in  order  to  guide  us  more  conven- 
iently, command  us  to  close  our  eyes  ? 


The  Most  Important   Thing  for  Man.       183 

CXXXVII. — HOW  PRETEND  THAT  MAN  OUGHT  TO 
BELIEVE  VERBAL  TESTIMONY  ON  WHAT  IS 
CLAIMED  TO  BE  THE  MOST  IMPORIANT  THING 
FOR   HIM? 

Men  persuade  themselves  that  religion  is  the 
most  serious  affair  in  the  world  for  them,  while  it 
is  the  very  thing  which  they  least  examine  for 
themselves.  If  the  question  arises  in  the  purchase 
of  land,  of  a  house,  of  the  investment  of  money,  of 
a  transaction,  or  of  some  kind  of  an  agreement,  you 
will  see  each  one  examine  everything  with  care, 
take  the  greatest  precautions,  weigh  all  the  words 
of  a  document,  to  beware  of  any  surprise  or  impo- 
sition. It  is  not  the  same  with  religion  ;  each  one 
accepts  it  at  hazard,  and  believes  it  upon  verbal 
testimony,  without  taking  the  trouble  to  examine 
it.  Two  causes  seem  to  concur  in  sustaining  men 
in  the  negligence  and  the  thoughtlessness  which 
they  exhibit  when  the  question  comes  up  of  ex- 
amining their  religious  opinions.  The  first  one  is, 
the  hopelessness  of  penetrating  the  obscurity  by 
which  every  religion  is  surrounded  ;  even  in  its 
first  principles,  it  has  only  a  tendency  to  repel  in- 
dolent minds,  who  see  in  it  but  chaos,  to  penetrate 
which,  they  judge  impossible.  The  second  is,  that 
each  one  is  afraid  to  incommode  himself  by  the 
severe  precepts  which  everybody  admires  in  the 
theory,  and  which  few  persons  take  the  trouble  of 
pra:ticing.  Many  people  preserve  their  religion 
like  old  family  titles  which  they  have  never  taken 
the  trouble  to  examine  minutely,  but  which  they 
place  in  their  archives  in  case  they  need  them. 


1 84  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CXXXVIII. — FAITH   TAKES    ROOT   BUT   IN   WEAK, 
IGNORANT,   OR  INDOLENT   MINDS. 

The  disciples  of  Pythagoras  had  an  implicit  faith 
in  their  Master's  doctrine:  "He  HAS  SAID  It!" 
was  for  them  the  solution  of  all  problems.  The 
majority  of  men  act  with  as  little  reason.  A  cu- 
rate, a  priest,  an  ignorant  monk,  will  become  in  the 
matter  of  religion  the  master  of  one's  thoughts. 
Faith  relieves  the  weakness  of  the  human  mind, 
for  whom  application  is  commonly  a  very  painful 
work  ;  it  is  much  easier  to  rely  upon  others  than 
to  examine  for  one's  self;  examination  being  slow 
and  difficult,  it  is  usually  unpleasant  to  ignorant 
and  stupid  minds  as  well  as  to  very  ardent  ones  ; 
this  is,  no  doubt,  why  faith  finds  so  many  partisans. 

The  less  enlightenment  and  reason  men  possess, 
the  more  zeal  they  exhibit  for  their  religion.  In 
all  the  religious  factions,  women,  aroused  by  their 
directors,  exhibit  very  great  zeal  in  opinions  of 
which  it  is  evident  they  have  not  the  least  idea. 
In  theological  quarrels  people  rush  like  a  ferocious 
beast  upon  all  those  against  whom  their  priest 
wishes  to  excite  them.  Profound  ignorance,  unlim- 
ited credulity,  a  very  weak  head,  an  irritated  imagi- 
nation, these  are  the  materials  of  which  devotees, 
zealots,  fanatics,  and  saints  are  made.  How  can 
we  make  those  people  understand  reason  who  al- 
low themselves  to  be  guided  without  examining 
anything?  The  devotees  and  common  people  are, 
in  the  hands  of  their  guides,  only  automatons  which 
they  move  at  their  fancy. 


One  True  Religion  is  an  Absurdity.        185 

CXXXIX. — TO  TEACH  THAT  THERE  EXISTS  ONE 
TRUE  RELIGION  IS  AN  ABSURDITY,  AND  A 
CAUSE  OF  MUCH  TROUBLE  AMONG  THE  NA- 
TIONS. 

Religion  is  a  thing  of  custom  and  fashion  ;  we 
must  do  as  others  do.  But,  among  the  many  rehg- 
ions  in  the  world,  which  one  ought  we  to  choose  ? 
This  examination  would  be  too  long  and  too  pain- 
ful ;  we  must  then  hold  to  the  faith  of  our  fathers, 
to  that  of  our  country,  or  to  that  of  the  prince, 
who,  possessing  power,  must  be  the  best.  Chance 
alone  decides  the  religion  of  a  man  and  of  a  people. 
The  French  would  be  to-day  as  good  Mussulmen  as 
they  are  Christians,  if  their  ancestors  had  not  re- 
pulsed the  efforts  of  the  Saracens.  If  we  judge  of 
the  intentions  of  Providence  by  the  events  and  the 
revolutions  of  this  world,  we  are  compelled  to  be- 
lieve that  it  is  quite  indifferent  about  the  different 
religions  which  exist  on  earth.  During  thousands 
of  years  Paganism,  Polytheism,  and  Idolatry  have 
been  the  religions  of  the  world  ;  we  are  assured  to- 
day, that  during  this  period  the  most  flourishing 
nations  had  not  the  least  idea  of  the  Deity,  an 
idea  which  is  claimed,  however,  to  be  so  important 
to  all  men.  The  Christians  pretend  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  Jewish  people,  that  is  to  say,  a 
handful  of  unfortunate  beings,  the  whole  human 
race  lived  in  utter  ignorance  of  its  duties  toward 
God,  and  had  but  imperfect  ideas  of  Divine  majesty. 
Christianity,  offshoot  of  Judaism,  which  was  very 
humble  in  its  obscure  origin,  became  powerful  and 


1 86  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

cruel  under  the  Christian  emperors,  who,  driven  by 
a  holy  zeal,  spread  it  marvelously  in  their  empire 
by  sword  and  fire,  and  founded  it  upon  the  ruins 
of  overthrown  Paganism.  Mohammed  and  his  suc- 
cessors, aided  by  Providence,  or  by  their  victorious 
arms,  succeeded  in  a  short  time  in  expelling  the 
Christian  religion  from  a  part  of  Asia,  Africa,  and 
even  of  Europe  itself;  the  Gospel  was  compelled  to 
surrender  to  the  Koran.  In  all  the  factions  or  sects 
which  during  a  great  number  of  centuries  have 
lacerated  the  Christians,  "  The  REASON  OF  THE 
STRONGEST  WAS  ALWAYS  THE  BEST  ; "  the  arms 
and  the  will  of  the  princes  alone  decided  upon  the 
most  useful  doctrine  for  the  salvation  of  the  na- 
tions. Could  we  not  conclude  by  this,  either  that 
the  Deity  takes  but  little  interest  in  the  religion 
of  men,  or  that  He  declares  Himself  always  in 
favor  of  opinions  which  best  suit  the  Authorities  of 
the  earth,  in  order  that  He  can  change  His  systems 
as  soon  as  they  take  a  notion  to  change  ? 

A  king  of  Macassar,  tired  of  the  idolatry  of  his 
fathers,  took  a  notion  one  day  to  leave  it.  The 
monarch's  council  deliberated  for  a  long  time  to 
know  whether  they  should  consult  Christian  or  Mo- 
hammedan Doctors.  In  the  impossibility  of  find- 
ing out  which  was  the  better  of  the  two  religions, 
It  was  resolved  to  send  at  the  same  time  for  the 
Tiissionaries  of  both,  and  to  accept  the  doctrine  of 
■.hose  who  would  have  the  advantage  of  arriving 
5irst.  They  did  not  doubt  that  God,  who  disposes  of 
events,  would  thus  Himself  explain  His  will.  Mo- 
hammed's missionaries  having  been  more  diligent, 


Ofif  True  Religion  is  an  Absurdity.        187 

the  king  with  his  people  submitted  to  the  law  which 
he  had  imposed  upon  himself;  the  missionaries  of 
Christ  were  dismissed  by  default  of  their  God,  who 
did  not  permit  them  to  arrive  early  enough.  God 
evidently  consents  that  chance  should  decide  the 
religion  of  nations. 

Those  who  govern,  always  decide  the  religion  of 
the  people.  The  true  religion  is  but  the  religion 
of  the  prince ;  the  true  God  is  the  God  whom  the 
prince  wishes  them  to  worship  ;  the  will  of  the 
priests  who  govern  the  prince,  always  becomes  the 
will  of  God.  A  jester  once  said,  with  reason,  that 
"  the  true  faith  is  always  the  one  which  has  on  its 
side  *  the  prince  and  the  executioner.'  " 

Emperors  and  executioners  for  a  long  time  sus- 
tained the  Gods  of  Rome  against  the  God  of  the 
Christians ;  the  latter  having  won  over  to  their 
side  the  emperors,  their  soldiers  and  their  execu- 
tioners succeeded  in  suppressing  the  worship  of  the 
Roman  Gods.  Mohammed's  God  succeeded  in  ex- 
pelling the  Christian's  God  from  a  large  part  of  the 
countries  which  He  formerly  occupied.  In  the 
eastern  part  of  Asia,  there  is  a  large  country  which 
is  very  flourishing,  very  productive,  thickly  popula- 
ted, and  governed  by  such  wise  laws,  that  the  most 
savage  conquerors  adopted  them  with  respect.  It 
is  China  !  With  the  exception  of  Christianity,  which 
was  banished  as  dangerous,  they  followed  their  own 
superstitious  ideas ;  while  the  mandarins  or  magis- 
trates, undeceived  long  ago  about  the  popular  re- 
ligion, do  not  trouble  themselves  in  regard  to  it, 
except  to  watch  over  it,  that  the  bonzes  or  priests 


1 88  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

do  not  use  this  religion  to  disturb  the  peace  of  the 
State.  However,  we  do  not  see  that  Providence 
withholds  its  benefactions  from  a  nation  whose 
chiefs  take  so  little  interest  in  the  worship  which  is 
offered  to  it.  The  Chinese  enjoy,  on  the  contrary, 
blessings  and  a  peace  worthy  of  being  envied  by 
many  nations  which  religion  divides,  ravages,  and 
often  destroys.  We  can  not  reasonably  expect  to 
deprive  a  people  of  its  follies  ;  but  we  can  hope  to 
cure  of  their  follies  those  who  govern  the  people ; 
these  will  then  prevent  the  follies  of  the  people 
from  becoming  dangerous.  Superstition  is  never 
to  be  feared  except  when  it  has  the  support  of 
princes  and  soldiers  ;  it  is  only  then  that  it  be- 
comes cruel  and  sanguinary.  Every  sovereign  who 
assumes  the  protection  of  a  sect  or  of  a  religious 
faction,  usually  becomes  the  tyrant  of  other  sects, 
and  makes  himself  the  must  cruel  perturbator  in 
his  kingdom. 

CXL. — RELIGION  IS  NOT  NECESSARY  TO  MORALITY 
AND   TO   VIRTUE. 

We  are  constantly  told,  and  a  good  many  sensi- 
ble persons  come  to  believe  it,  that  religion  is 
necessary  to  restrain  men ;  that  without  it  there 
would  be  no  check  upon  the  people ;  that  morality 
and  virtue  are  intimately  connected  with  it :  "  The 
fear  of  the  Lord  is,"  we  are  told,  "  the  beginning 
of  wisdom."  The  terrors  of  another  life  are  salu- 
tary terrors,  and  calculated  to  subdue  men's  pas- 
sions. To  disabuse  us  in  regard  to  the  utility  of 
religious  notions,  it  is  suflficient  to  open  the  eyes 


The  Terrors  of  Death.  189 

and  to  consider  what  are  the  morals  of  the  most  re- 
ligious people.  We  see  haughty  tyrants,  oppres- 
sive ministers,  perfidious  courtiers,  countless  extor- 
tioners, unscrupulous  magistrates,  impostors,  adul- 
terers, libertines,  prostitutes,  thieves,  and  rogues  of 
all  kinds,  who  have  never  doubted  the  existence  of 
a  vindictive  God,  or  the  punishments  of  hell,  or  the 
joys  of  Paradise. 

Although  very  useless  for  the  majority  of  men, 
the  ministers  of  religion  have  tried  to  make  death 
appear  terrible  to  the  eyes  of  their  votaries.  If  the 
most  devoted  Christians  could  be  consistent,  they 
would  pass  their  whole  lives  in  tears,  and  would 
finally  die  in  the  most  terrible  alarms.  What  is  more 
frightful  than  death  to  those  unfortunate  ones  who 
are  constantly  reminded  that  "  it  is  a  fearful  thing 
to  fall  into  the  hands  of  a  living  God  ;  "  that  they 
should  "seek  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling!  " 
However,  we  are  assured  that  the  Christian's  death 
has  great  consolations,  of  which  the  unbeliever  is 
deprived.  The  good  Christian,  we  are  told,  dies 
with  the  firm  hope  of  enjoying  eternal  happiness, 
which  he  has  tried  to  deserve.  But  this  firm  assur- 
ance, is  it  not  a  punishable  presumption  in  the  eyes 
of  a  severe  God  ?  The  greatest  saints,  are  they  not 
to  be  in  doubt  whether  they  are  worthy  of  the  love 
or  of  the  hatred  of  God  •*  Priests  v.  ho  console  us 
with  the  hope  of  the  joys  of  Paradise,  and  close 
your  eyes  to  the  torments  of  hell,  have  you  then 
had  the  advantage  of  seeing  your  names  and  ours 
inscribed  in  the  book  of  life  ? 


190  Comtnon  Sense,  by  Jean  Mcslier. 

CXLI.— RELIGION     IS    THE     WEAKEST     RESTRAINT 
THAT   CAN   BE   OPPOSED   TO   THE   PASSIONS. 

To  oppose  to  the  passions  and  present  interests 
of  men  the  obscure  notions  about  a  metaphysical 
God  whom  no  one  can  conceive  of;  the  incredible 
punishments  of  another  life  ;  the  pleasures  of  Heav- 
en, of  which  we  can  not  form  an  idea,  is  it  not  com- 
bating realities  with  chimeras  ?  Men  have  always 
but  confused  ideas  of  their  God  ;  they  see  Him 
only  in  the  clouds  ;  they  never  think  of  Him  when 
they  wish  to  do  wrong.  Whenever  ambition,  for- 
tune, or  pleasure  entices  them  or  leads  them  away, 
God,  and  His  menaces,  and  His  promises  weigh 
nothing  in  the  balance.  The  things  of  this  life 
have  for  men  a  degree  of  certainty,  which  the  most 
lively  faith  can  never  give  to  the  objects  of  another 
life. 

Every  religion,  in  its  origin,  was  a  restraint  in- 
vented by  legislators  who  wished  to  subjugate  the 
minds  of  the  common  people.  Like  nurses  who 
frighten  children  in  order  to  put  them  to  sleep, 
ambitious  men  use  the  name  of  the  gods  to  inspire 
fear  in  savages  ;  terror  seems  well  suited  to  compel 
them  to  submit  quietly  to  the  yoke  which  is  to  be 
imposed  upon  them.  Are  the  ghost  stories  of 
childhood  fit  for  mature  age  ?  Man  in  his  matur- 
ity no  longer  believes  in  them,  or  if  he  does,  he  is 
troubled  but  little  by  it,  and  he  keeps  on  his  road. 

CXLII. — HONOR     IS    A     MORE     SALUTARY     AND     A 
STRONGER   CHECK   THAN   RELIGION. 

There  is  scarcely  a  man  who  does  not  fear  more 


Religion  no  Check  upon  Kings.  191 

what  he  sees  than  what  he  does  not  see  ;  the  judg- 
ments of  men,  of  which  he  experiences  the  effects, 
than  the  judgments  of  God,  of  whom  he  has  but 
floating  ideas.  The  desire  to  please  the  world,  the 
current  of  custom,  the  fear  of  being  ridiculed,  and 
of  "  What  will  they  say  ? "  have  more  power 
than  all  religious  opinions.  A  warrior  with  the 
fear  of  dishonor,  does  he  not  hazard  his  life  in  bat- 
tles every  day,  even  at  the  risk  of  incurring  eternal 
damnation  ? 

The  most  religious  persons  sometimes  show  more 
respect  for  a  servant  than  for  God.  A  man  that 
firmly  believes  that  God  sees  everything,  knows 
everything,  is  everywhere,  will,  when  he  is  alone, 
commit  actions  which  he  never  would  do  in  the 
presence  of  the  meanest  of  mortals.  Those  even 
who  claim  to  be  the  most  firmly  convinced  of  the 
existence  of  a  God,  act  every  instant  as  if  they  did 
not  believe  anything  about  it. 

CXLIII. — RELIGION  IS  CERTAINLY  NOT  A  POWER- 
FUL CHECK  UPON  THE  PASSIONS  OF  KINGS, 
WHO  ARE  ALMOST  ALWAYS  CRUEL  AND  FAN- 
TASTIC TYRANTS  BY  THE  EXAMPLE  OF  THIS 
SAME  GOD,  OF  WHOM  THEY  CLAIM  TO  BE 
THE  REPRESENTATIVES  ;  THEY  USE  RELIG- 
ION BUT  TO  BRUTALIZE  THEIR  SLAVES  SO 
MUCH  THE  MORE,  TO  LULL  THEM  TO  SLEEP 
IN  THEIR  FETTERS,  AND  TO  PREY  UPON  THEM 
WITH   THE   GREATER   FACILITY. 

"  Let  us  tolerate  at  least,"  we  are  told,  "  the  idea 
of  a  God,  which  alone  can  be  a  restraint  upon  the 


192  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

passions  of  kings."  But,  in  good  faith,  can  we 
admire  the  marvelous  effects  which  the  fear  of  this 
God  produces  generally  upon  the  mind  of  the 
princes  who  claim  to  be  His  images?  What  idea 
can  we  form  of  the  original,  if  we  judge  it  by  its 
duplicates  ?  Sovereigns,  it  is  true,  call  themselves 
the  representatives  of  God,  His  lieutenants  upon 
earth.  But  does  the  fear  of  a  more  powerful  mas- 
ter than  themselves  make  them  attend  to  the  wel- 
fare of  the  peoples  that  Providence  has  confided 
to  their  care?  The  idea  of  an  invisible  Judge,  to 
whom  alone  they  pretend  to  be  accountable  for 
their  actions,  should  inspire  them  with  terror  !  But 
does  this  terror  render  them  more  equitable,  more 
humane,  less  avaricious  of  the  blood  and  the  goods 
of  their  subjects,  more  moderate  in  their  pleasures, 
more  attentive  to  their  duties  ?  Finally,  does  this 
God,  by  whom  we  are  assured  that  kings  reign,  pre- 
vent them  from  vexing  in  a  thousand  ways  the  peo- 
ples of  whom  they  ought  to  be  the  leaders,  the  pro- 
tectors, and  fathers  ?  Let  us  open  our  eyes,  let  us 
turn  our  regards  upon  all  the  earth,  and  we  shall 
see,  almost  everywhere,  men  governed  by  tyrants, 
who  make  use  of  religion  but  to  brutalize  their 
slaves,  whom  they  oppress  by  the  weight  of  their 
vices,  or  whom  they  sacrifice  without  mercy  to 
their  fatal  extravagances.  Far  from  being  a  re- 
straint to  the  passions  of  kings,  religion,  by  its  very 
principles,  gives  them  a  loose  rein.  It  transforms 
them  into  Divinities,  whose  caprices  the  nations 
never  dare  to  resist.  At  the  same  time  that  it 
unchains  princes  and  breaks  for  them  the  ties  of 


Wise  Counsels  to  Kings.  193 

the  social  pact,  it  enchains  the  minds  and  the  hands 
of  their  oppressed  subjects.  Is  it  surprising,  then, 
that  the  gods  of  the  earth  believe  that  all  is  per- 
mitted to  them,  and  consider  their  subjects  as  vile 
instruments  of  their  caprices  or  of  their  ambition  ? 
Religion,  in  every  country,  has  made  of  the 
Monarch  of  Nature  a  cruel,  fantastic,  partial  ty- 
rant, whose  caprice  is  the  rule.  The  God-monarch 
is  but  too  well  imitated  by  His  representatives 
upon  the  earth.  Everywhere  religion  seems  in- 
vented but  to  lull  to  sleep  the  people  in  fetters,  in 
order  to  furnish  their  masters  the  facility  of  devour- 
ing them,  or  to  render  them  miserable  with  im- 
punity. 

CXLIV. — ORIGIN  OF  THE  MOST  ABSURD,  THE 
MOST  RIDICULOUS,  AND  THE  MOST  ODIOUS 
USURPATION,  CALLED  THE  DIVINE  RIGHT 
OF   KINGS.      WISE   COUNSELS   TO   KINGS. 

In  order  to  guard  themselves  against  the  enter- 
prises of  a  haughty  Pontiff  who  desired  to  reign 
over  kings,  and  in  order  to  protect  their  persons 
from  the  attacks  of  the  credulous  people  excited 
by  their  priests,  several  princes  of  Europe  pre- 
tended to  have  received  their  crowns  and  their 
rights  from  God  alone,  and  that  they  should  ac- 
count to  Him  only  for  their  actions.  Civil  power 
in  its  battles  against  spiritual  power,  having  at 
length  gained  the  advantage,  and  the  priests  being 
compelled  to  yield,  recognized  the  Divine  right  of 
kings  and  preached  it  to  the  people,  reserving  to 
themselves  the  right  to  change  opinions   and  to 


194  Conunon  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

preach  revolution,  every  time  that  the  divine  rights 
of  kings  did  not  agree  with  the  divine  rights  of  the 
clergy.  It  was  always  at  the  expense  of  the  peo- 
ple that  peace  was  restored  between  the  kings  and 
the  priests,  but  the  latter  maintained  their  preten- 
sions notwithstanding  all  treaties. 

Many  tyrants  and  wicked    princes,  whose  con- 
science  reproaches   them  for   their   negligence  or 
their  perversity,  far  from  fearing  their  God,  rather 
like  to  bargain  with  this  invisible  Judge,  who  never 
refuses  anything,  or  with  His  priests,  who  are  ac- 
commodating to  the  masters  of  the  earth   rather 
than  to  their  subjects.     The  people,  when  reduced 
to  despair,  consider  the  divine  rights  of  their  chiefs 
as  an  abuse.     When  men  become  exasperated,  the 
divine  rights  of  tyrants  are  compelled  to  yield  to 
the  natural  rights  of  their  subjects ;  they  have  bet- 
ter market  with  the  gods  than  with  men.     Kings 
are  responsible  for  their  actions  but  to  God,  the 
priests  but  to  themselves  ;   there   is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  both  of  them  have  more  faith  in  the  in- 
dulgence of  Heaven  than  in  that  of  earth.     It  is 
much  easier  to  escape  the  judgments  of  the  gods, 
who  can  be  appeased   at  little  expense,  than   the 
judgments  of  men  whose  patience  is  exhausted. 
If  you  take  away  from  the  sovereigns  the  fear  of 
an  invisible  power,  what  restraint  will  you  oppose 
to  their  misconduct  ?     Let  them  learn  how  to  gov- 
ern, how  to  be  just,  how  to  respect  the  rights  of 
the  people,  to  recognize  the  benefactions   of  the 
nations  from  whom  they  obtain  their  grandeur  and 
power ;   let  them  learn  to  fear  men,  to  submit  to 


Religion  is  Fatal  to  Politics.  195 

the  laws  of  equity,  that  no  one  can  violate  without 
danger ;  let  these  laws  restrain  equally  the  power- 
ful and  the  weak,  the  great  and  the  small,  the  sov- 
ereign and  the  subjects. 

The  fear  of  the  Gods,  religion,  the  terrors  of  an- 
other life — these  are  the  metaphysical  and  super- 
natural barriers  which  are  opposed  to  the  furious 
passions  of  princes!  Are  these  barriers  sufficient? 
We  leave  it  to  experience  to  solve  the  question  ! 
To  oppose  religion  to  the  wickedness  of  tyrants,  is 
to  wish  that  vague  speculations  should  be  more 
powerful  than  inclinations  which  conspire  to  fortify 
them  in  it  from  day  to  day. 

CXLV. — RELIGION  IS  FATAL  TO  POLITICS  ;  IT 
FORMS  BUT  LICENTIOUS  AND  PERVERSE  DES- 
POTS, AS  WELL  AS  ABJECT  AND  UNHAPPY 
SUBJECTS. 

We  are  told  constantly  of  the  immense  advan- 
tages which  religion  secures  to  politics ;  but  if  we 
reflect  a  moment,  we  will  see  without  trouble  that 
religious  opinions  blind  and  lead  astray  equally  the 
rulers  and  the  people,  and  never  enlighten  them 
either  in  regard  to  their  true  duties  or  their  real 
interests.  Religion  but  too  often  forms  licentious, 
immoral  tyrants,  obeyed  by  slaves  who  are  obliged 
to  conform  to  their  views.  From  lack  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  principles  of  administration,  the 
aim  and  the  rights  of  social  life,  the  real  interests 
of  men,  and  the  duties  which  unite  them,  the 
princes  are  become,  in  almost  every  land,  licentious, 
absolute,  and  perverse ;  and  their  subjects  abject. 


196  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

unhappy,  and  wicked.  It  was  to  avoid  the  trouble 
of  studying  these  important  subjects,  that  they  felt 
themselves  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  chimeras, 
which  so  far,  instead  of  being  a  remedy,  have  but 
increased  the  evils  of  the  human  race  and  with- 
drawn their  attention  from  the  most  interesting 
things.  Does  not  the  unjust  and  cruel  manner  in 
which  so  many  nations  are  governed  here  below, 
furnish  the  most  visible  proofs,  not  only  of  the  non- 
effect  produced  by  the  fear  of  another  life,  but  of 
the  non-existence  of  a  Providence  interested  in  the 
fate  of  the  human  race?  If  there  existed  a  good 
God,  would  we  not  be  forced  to  admit  that  He 
strangely  neglects  the  majority  of  men  in  this  life  ? 
It  would  appear  that  this  God  created  the  nations 
but  to  be  toys  for  the  passions  and  follies  of  His 
representatives  upon  earth. 

CXLVI. — CHRISTIANITY  EXTENDED  ITSELF  BUT  BY 
ENCOURAGING  DESPOTISM,  OF  V^HICH  IT,  LIKE 
ALL   RELIGION,   IS   THE   STRONGEST   SUPPORT. 

If  we  read  history  with  some  attention,  we  shall 
see  that  Christianity,  fawning  at  first,  insinuated 
itself  among  the  savage  and  free  nations  of  Europe 
but  by  showing  their  chiefs  that  its  principle* 
would  favor  despotism  and  place  absolute  power  in 
their  hands.  We  see,  consequently,  barbarous 
kings  converting  themselves  with  a  miraculous 
promptitude ;  that  is  to  say,  adopting  without  ex- 
amination a  system  so  favorable  to  their  ambition, 
and  exerting  themselves  to  have  it  adopted  by 
their  subjects.      If  the  ministers  of  this  religion 


Christianity  Encourages  Despotism.  197 

have  since  often  moderated  their  servile  principles, 
it  is  because  the  theory  has  no  influence  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  Lord's  ministers,  except  when  it 
suits  their  temporal  interests. 

Christianity  boasts  of  having  brought  to  men  a 
happiness  unknown  to  preceding  centuries.  It  is 
true  that  the  Grecians  have  not  known  the  Divine 
right  of  tyrants  or  usurpers  over  their  native  coun- 
try. Under  the  reign  of  Paganism  it  never  entered 
the  brain  of  anybody  that  Heaven  did  not  want  a 
nation  to  defend  itself  against  a  ferocious  beast 
which  insolently  ravaged  it.  The  Christian  religion, 
devised  for  the  benefit  of  tyrants,  was  established 
on  the  principle  that  the  nations  should  renounce 
the  legitimate  defense  of  themselves.  Thus  Chris- 
tian nations  are  deprived  of  the  first  law  of  nature, 
which  decrees  that  man  should  resist  evil  and  dis- 
arm all  who  attempt  to  destroy  him.  If  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Church  have  often  permitted  nations  to 
revolt  for  Heaven's  cause,  they  never  allowed  them 
to  revolt  against  real  evils  or  known  violences. 

It  is  from  Heaven  that  the  chains  have  come  to 
fetter  the  minds  of  mortals.  Why  is  the  Moham- 
medan everywhere  a  slave  ?  It  is  because  his 
Prophet  subdued  him  in  the  name  of  the  Deity, 
just  as  Moses  before  him  subjugated  the  Jews.  In 
all  parts  of  the  world  we  see  that  priests  were 
the  first  law-givers  and  the  first  sovereigns  of 
the  savages  whom  they  governed.  Religion  seems 
to  have  been  invented  but  to  exalt  princes 
above  their  nations,  and  to  deliver  the  people  to 
their  discretion.     As  soon  as  the  latter  find  them- 


198  Common  Sense,  by  ^ean  Me  slier. 

selves  unhappy  here  below,  they  are  silenced  by 
menacing  them  with  God's  wrath ;  their  eyes  are 
fixed  on  Heaven,  in  order  to  prevent  them  from 
perceiving  the  real  causes  of  their  sufferings  and 
from  applying  the  remedies  which  nature  offers 
them. 

CXLVII. — THE  ONLY  AIM  OF  RELIGIOUS  PRINCI- 
PLES IS  TO  PERPETUATE  THE  TYRANNY  OF 
KINGS  AND  TO  SACRIFICE  THE  NATIONS  TO 
THEM. 

By  incessantly  repeating  to  men  that  the  earth  is 
not  their  true  country  ;  that  the  present  life  is  but  a 
passage ;  that  they  were  not  made  to  be  happy  in 
this  world ;  that  their  sovereigns  hold  their  authori- 
ty but  from  God,  and  are  responsible  to  Him  alone 
for  the  misuse  of  it ;  that  it  is  never  permitted  to 
them  to  resist,  the  priesthood  succeeded  in  perpet- 
uating the  misconduct  of  the  kings  and  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  people ;  the  interests  of  the  nations 
have  been  cowardly  sacrificed  to  their  chiefs.  The 
more  we  consider  the  dogmas  and  the  principles  of 
religion,  the  more  we  shall  be  convinced  that  their 
only  aim  is  to  give  advantage  to  tyrants  and  priests  ; 
not  having  the  least  regard  for  the  good  of  society. 

In  order  to  mask  the  powerlessness  of  these  deaf 
Gods,  religion  has  succeeded  in  making  mortals  be- 
lieve that  it  is  always  iniquity  which  excites  the 
wrath  of  Heaven.  The  people  blame  themselves  for 
the  disasters  and  the  adversities  which  they  endure 
continually.  If  disturbed  nature  sometimes  causes 
the  people  t3  feel  its  blows,  their  bad  governments 


The  Aim  of  Religious  Principles.  199 

arc  but  too  often  the  immediate  and  permanent 
causes  from  which  spring  the  continual  calamities 
that  they  are  obliged  to  endure.  Is  it  not  the  am- 
bition of  kings  and  of  the  great,  their  negligence, 
their  vices,  their  oppression,  to  which  are  generally 
due  sterility,  mendicity,  wars,  contagions,  bad  mor- 
als, and  all  the  multiplied  scourges  which  desolate 
the  earth? 

In  continually  directing  the  eyes  of  men  toward 
Heaven,  making  them  believe  that  all  their  evils  are 
due  to  Divine  wrath,  in  furnishing  them  but  inef- 
ficient and  futile  means  of  lessening  their  troubles, 
it  would  appear  that  the  only  object  of  the  priests 
is  to  prevent  the  nations  from  dreaming  of  the  true 
sources  of  their  miseries,  and  to  perpetuate  them. 
The  ministers  of  religion  act  like  those  indigent 
mothers,  who,  in  need  of  bread,  put  their  hungry 
children  to  sleep  by  songs,  or  who  present  them 
toys  to  make  them  forget  the  want  which  torments 
them. 

Blinded  from  childhood  by  error,  held  by  the  in- 
vincible ties  of  opinion,  crushed  by  panic  terrors, 
stupefied  at  the  bosom  of  ignorance,  how  could 
the  people  understand  the  true  causes  of  their 
troubles?  They  think  to  remedy  them  by  invok- 
ing the  gods.  Alas !  do  they  not  see  that  it  is  in 
the  name  of  these  gods  that  they  are  ordered  to 
present  their  throat  to  the  sword  of  their  pitiless 
tyrants,  in  whom  they  would  find  the  most  visible 
cause  of  the  evils  under  which  they  groan,  and  for 
which  they  uselessly  implore  the  assistance  of 
Heaven?     Credulous  people!    in  your  adversities 


200  Common  Sense  ^  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

redouble  your  prayers,  your  offerings,  your  sacri- 
fices ;  besiege  your  temples,  strangle  countless  vic- 
tims, fast  in  sackcloth  and  in  ashes,  drink  your  own 
tears ;  finally,  exhaust  yourselves  to  enrich  your 
gods :  you  will  do  nothing  but  enrich  their  priests ; 
the  gods  of  Heaven  will  not  be  propitious  to  you, 
except  when  the  gods  of  the  earth  will  recognize 
that  they  are  men  like  yourselves,  and  will  give  to 
your  welfare  the  care  which  is  your  due, 

CXLVIII. — HOW  FATAL  IT  IS  TO  PERSUADE  KINGS 
THAT  THEY  HAVE  ONLY  GOD  TO  FEAR  IF 
THEY   INJURE  THE   PEOPLE. 

Negligent,  ambitious,  and  perverse  princes  are 
the  real  causes  of  public  adversities,  of  useless  and 
unjust  wars  continually  depopulating  the  earth,  of 
greedy  and  despotic  governments,  destroying  the 
benefactions  of  nature  for  men.  The  rapacity  of 
the  courts  discourages  agriculture,  blots  out  indus- 
try, causes  famine,  contagion,  misery ;  Heaven  is 
neither  cruel  nor  favorable  to  the  wishes  of  the 
people  ;  it  is  their  haughty  chiefs,  who  always  have 
a  heart  of  brass. 

It  is  a  notion  destructive  to  wholesome  politics 
and  to  the  morals  of  princes,  to  persuade  them 
that  God  alone  is  to  be  feared  by  them,  when  they 
injure  their  subjects  or  when  they  neglect  to  ren- 
der them  happy.  Sovereigns  !  It  is  not  the  Gods, 
but  your  people  whom  you  offend  when  you  do 
evil.  It  is  to  these  people,  and  by  retroaction,  to 
yourselves,  that  you  do  harm  when  you  govern 
unjustly. 


A  Religious  King  is  a  Scourge.  201 

Nothing  is  more  common  in  history  than  to  see 
religious  tyrants ;  nothing  more  rare  than  to  find 
equitable,  vigilant,  enlightened  princes.  A  mon- 
arch can  be  pious,  very  strict  in  fulfilling  servilely 
the  duties  of  his  religion,  very  submissive  to  his 
priests,  liberal  in  their  behalf,  and  at  the  same  time 
destitute  of  all  the  virtues  and  talents  necessary  for 
governing.  Religion  for  the  princes  is  but  an  in- 
strument intended  to  keep  the  people  more  firmly 
under  the  yoke.  According  to  the  beautiful  prin- 
ciples of  religious  morality,  a  tyrant  who,  during  a 
long  reign,  will  have  done  nothing  but  oppress  his 
subjects,  rob  them  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor,  sac- 
rifice them  without  pity  to  his  insatiable  ambition  ; 
a  conqueror  who  will  have  usurped  the  provinces 
of  others,  who  will  have  slaughtered  whole  nations, 
who  will  have  been  all  his  life  a  real  scourge  of  the 
human  race,  imagines  that  his  conscience  can  be 
tranquillized,  if,  in  order  to  expiate  so  many  crimes, 
he  will  have  wept  at  the  feet  of  a  priest,  who  will 
have  the  cowardly  complaisance  to  console  and  re- 
assure a  brigand,  whom  the  most  frightful  despair 
would  punish  too  little  for  the  evil  which  he  has 
done  upon  earth. 

CLXIX. — A   RELIGIOUS   KING   IS   A   SCOURGE   TO 
HIS   KINGDOM. 

A  sincerely  religious  sovereign  is  generally  a 
very  dangerous  chief  for  a  State  ;  credulity  always 
indicates  a  narrow  mind  ;  devotion  generally  ab- 
sorbs the  attention  which  the  prince  ought  to  give 
to  the  ruling  of  his  people.     Docile  to  the  sugges- 


202  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

tions  of  his  priests,  he  constantly  becomes  the  toy 
of  their  caprices,  the  abettor  of  their  quarrels,  the  in- 
strument and  the  accomplice  of  their  follies,  to  which 
he  attaches  the  greatest  importance.  Among  the 
most  fatal  gifts  which  religion  has  bestowed  upon 
the  world,  we  must  consider  above  all,  these  devo- 
ted and  zealous  monarchs,  who,  with  the  idea  of 
working  for  the  salvation  of  their  subjects,  have 
made  it  their  sacred  duty  to  torment,  to  persecute, 
to  destroy  those  whose  conscience  made  them  think 
otherwise  than  they  do.  A  religious  bigot  at  the 
head  of  an  empire,  is  one  of  the  greatest  scourges 
which  Heaven  in  its  fury  could  have  sent  upon 
earth.  One  fanatical  or  deceitful  priest  who  has 
the  ear  of  a  credulous  and  powerful  prince,  suffices 
to  put  a  State  into  disorder  and  the  universe  into 
combustion. 

In  almost  all  countries,  priests  and  devout  per- 
sons are  charged  with  forming  the  mind  and  the 
heart  of  the  young  princes  destined  to  govern  the 
nations.  What  enlightenment  can  teachers  of  this 
stamp  give  ?  Filled  themselves  with  prejudices, 
they  will  hold  up  to  their  pupil  superstition  as  the 
most  important  and  the  most  sacred  thing,  its  chi- 
merical duties  as  the  most  holy  obligations,  intoler- 
ance, and  the  spirit  of  persecution,  as  the  true 
foundations  of  his  future  authority  ;  they  will  try 
to  make  him  a  chief  of  party,  a  turbulent  fanatic, 
and  a  tyrant ;  they  will  suppress  at  an  early  period 
his  reason  ;  they  will  premonish  him  against  it  ; 
they  will  prevent  truth  from  reaching  him  ;  they 
will  prejudice  him  against  true  talents,  and  prepos- 


A  Despot  ts  a  Madman.  203 

sess  him  in  favor  of  despicable  talents  ;  finally 
they  will  make  of  him  an  imbecile  devotee,  who 
will  have  no  idea  of  justice  or  of  injustice,  of  true 
glory  or  of  true  greatness,  and  who  will  be  devoid 
of  the  intelligence  and  virtue  necessary  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  a  great  kingdom.  Here,  in  brief,  is  the 
plan  of  education  for  a  child  destined  to  make,  one 
day,  the  happiness  or  the  misery  of  several  millions 
of  men. 

CL. — THE  SHIELD  OF  RELIGION  IS  FOR  TYRANNY, 
A  WEAK  RAMPART  AGAINST  THE  DESPAIR  OF 
THE  PEOPLE.  A  DESPOT  IS  A  MADMAN,  WHO 
INJURES  HIMSELF  AND  SLEEPS  UPON  THE 
EDGE   OF   A   PRECIPICE. 

Priests  in  all  times  have  shown  themselves  sup- 
porters of  despotism,  and  the  enemies  of  public 
liberty.  Their  profession  requires  vile  and  submis- 
sive slaves,  who  never  have  the  audacity  to  reason. 
In  an  absolute  government,  their  great  object  is 
to  secure  control  of  the  mind  of  a  weak  and  stu- 
pid prince,  in  order  to  make  themselves  masters 
of  the  people.  Instead  of  leading  the  people  to 
salvation,  priests  have  always  led  them  to  servitude. 

For  the  sake  of  the  supernatural  titles  which  re- 
ligion has  forged  for  the  most  wicked  princes,  the 
latter  have  generally  united  with  the  priests,  who, 
sure  of  governing  by  controlling  the  opinion  of  the 
sovereign  himself,  have  charge  of  tying  the  hands 
of  the  people  and  of  keeping  them  under  theii 
yoke.  But  it  is  vain  that  the  tyrant,  protected  by 
the  shield  of  religion,  flatters  himself  with  being 


204  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

sheltered  from  all  the  blows  of  fate.  Opinion  is  a 
weak  rampart  against  the  despair  of  the  people. 
Besides,  the  priest  is  the  friend  of  the  tyrant  only 
so  long  as  he  finds  his  profit  by  the  tyranny  ;  he 
preaches  sedition  and  demolishes  the  idol  which 
he  has  made,  when  he  considers  it  no  longer  in 
conformity  with  the  interests  of  Heaven,  which  he 
speaks  of  as  he  pleases,  and  which  never  speaks  but 
in  behalf  of  his  interests.  No  doubt  it  will  be  said, 
that  the  sovereigns,  knowing  all  the  advantages 
which  religion  procures  for  them,  are  truly  inter- 
ested in  upholding  it  with  all  their  strength.  If 
religious  opinions  are  useful  to  tyrants,  it  is  evident 
that  they  are  useless  to  those  who  govern  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  reason  and  of  equity.  Is  there 
any  advantage  in  exercising  tyranny  ?  Does  not 
tyranny  deprive  princes  of  true  power,  the  love  of 
the  people,  in  which  is  safety  ?  Should  not  every 
rational  prince  perceive  that  the  despot  is  but  an 
insane  man  who  injures  himself?  Will  not  every 
enlightened  prince  beware  of  his  flatterers,  whose 
object  is  to  put  him  to  sleep  at  the  edge  of  the 
precipice  to  which  they  lead  him  ? 

CLI. — RELIGION  FAVORS  THE  ERRORS  OF  PRINCES, 
BY  DELIVERING  THEM  FROM  FEAR  AND  RE- 
MORSE. 

If  the  sacerdotal  flatteries  succeed  in  perverting 
princes  and  changing  them  into  tyrants,  the  latter 
on  their  side  necessarily  corrupt  the  great  men  and 
the  people.  Under  an  unjust  master,  without  good- 
ness, without  virtue,  who  knows  no  law  but  his 


What  is  an  Enlighte^ied  Sovereign  ?  205 

caprice,  a  nation  must  become  necessarily  depraved. 
Will  this  master  wish  to  have  honest,  enlightened, 
and  virtuous  men  near  him  ?  No  !  he  needs  flatter- 
ers in  those  who  approach  him,  imitators,  slaves, 
base  and  servile  minds,  who  give  themselves  up  to 
his  taste  ;  his  court  will  spread  the  contagion  of 
vice  to  the  inferior  classes.  By  degrees  all  will  be 
necessarily  corrupted,  in  a  State  whose  chief  is  cor- 
rupt himself.  It  was  said  a  long  time  ago  that  the 
princes  seem  ordained  to  do  all  they  do  themselves. 
Religion,  far  from  being  a  restraint  upon  the  sover- 
eigns, entitles  them,  without  fear  and  without  re- 
morse, to  the  errors  which  are  as  fatal  to  themselves 
as  to  the  nations  which  they  govern.  Men  are 
never  deceived  with  impunity.  Tell  a  prince  that 
he  is  a  God,  and  very  soon  he  will  believe  that  he 
owes  nothing  to  anybody.  As  long  as  he  is  feared, 
he  will  not  care  much  for  love  ;  he  will  recognize 
no  rights,  no  relations  with  his  subjects,  nor  obli- 
gations in  their  behalf.  Tell  this  prince  that  he  is 
responsible  for  his  actions  to  God  alone,  and  very 
soon  he  will  act  as  if  he  was  responsible  to  nobody. 

CLII. — WHAT   IS  AN   ENLIGHTENED   SOVEREIGN? 

An  enlightened  sovereign  is  he  who  understands 
his  true  interests  ;  he  knows  they  are  united  to 
those  of  his  nation  ;  he  knows  that  a  prince  can 
be  neither  great,  nor  powerful,  nor  beloved,  nor  re- 
spected, so  long  as  he  will  command  but  miserable 
slaves ;  he  knows  that  equity,  benevolence,  and 
vigilance  will  give  him  more  real  rights  over  men 
than   fabulous   titles  which,   claim   to    come   from 


2o6  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Mcslier. 

Heaven.  He  will  feel  that  religion  is  useful  but  to 
the  priests ;  that  it  is  useless  to  society,  which  is 
often  troubled  by  it  ;  that  it  must  be  limited  to 
prevent  it  from  doing  injury  ;  finally,  he  will  un- 
derstand that,  in  order  to  reign  with  glor}^,  he  must 
make  good  laws,  possess  virtues,  and  not  base  his 
power  on  impositions  and  chimeras. 

CLIII. — THE  DOMINANT  PASSIONS  AND  CRIMES 
OF  PRIESTCRAFT.  WITH  THE  ASSISTANCE 
OF  ITS  PRETENDED  GOD  AND  OF  RELIGION, 
IT  ASSERTS  ITS  PASSIONS  AND  COMMITS  ITS 
CRIMES. 

The  ministers  of  religion  have  taken  great  care 
to  make  of  their  God  a  terrible,  capricious,  and 
changeable  tyrant ;  it  was  necessary  for  them  that 
He  should  be  thus  in  order  that  He  might  lend 
Himself  to  their  various  interests.  A  God  who 
would  be  just  and  good,  without  a  mixture  of 
caprice  and  perversity ;  a  God  who  would  con- 
stantly have  the  qualities  of  an  honest  man  or 
of  a  compliant  sovereign,  would  not  suit  His  min- 
isters. It  is  necessary  to  the  priests  that  we  trem- 
ble before  their  God,  in  order  that  we  have  recourse 
to  them  to  obtain  the  means  to  be  quieted.  No 
man  is  a  hero  to  his  valet  de  chambre.  It  is  not 
surprising  that  a  God  clothed  by  His  priests  in  such 
a  way  as  to  cause  others  to  fear  Him,  should  rarely 
impose  upon  those  priests  themselves,  or  exert  but 
little  influence  upon  their  conduct.  Consequently 
we  see  them  behave  themselves  in  a  uniform  way 
in  everv  land  ;  everywhere  they  devour  nations,  de- 


Charlatanry  of  the  Priests.  207 

base  souls,  discourage  industry,  and  sow  discord 
under  the  pretext  of  the  glory  of  their  God.  Am- 
bition and  avarice  were  at  all  times  the  dominating 
passions  of  the  priesthood  ;  everywhere  the  priest 
places  himself  above  the  sovereign  and  the  laws  ; 
everywhere  we  see  him  occupied  but  with  the  in- 
terests of  his  pride,  his  cupidity,  his  despotic  and 
vindictive  mood  ;  everywhere  he  substitutes  ex- 
piations, sacrifices,  ceremonies,  and  mysterious 
practices  ;  in  a  word,  inventions  lucrative  to  him- 
self for  useful  and  social  virtues.  The  mind  is 
confounded  and  reason  interdicted  with  the  view 
of  ridiculous  practices  and  pitiable  means  which 
the  ministers  of  the  gods  invented  in  every  coun- 
try to  purify  souls  and  render  Heaven  favorable  to 
nations.  Here,  they  practice  circumcision  upon  a 
child  to  procure  it  Divine  benevolence  ;  there,  they 
pour  water  upon  his  head  to  wash  away  the  crimes 
which  he  could  not  yet  have  committed  ;  in  other 
places  he  is  told  to  plunge  himself  into  a  river 
whose  waters  have  the  power  to  wash  away  all  his 
impurities  ;  in  other  places  certain  food  is  forbid- 
den to  him,  whose  use  would  not  fail  to  excite 
celestial  indignation  ;  in  other  countries  they  order 
the  sinful  man  to  come  periodically  for  the  confes- 
sion of  his  faults  to  a  priest,  who  is  often  a  greater 
sinner  than  he. 

CLIV. — CHARLATANRY   OF   THE   PRIESTS. 

What  would  we  say  of  a  crowd  of  quacks,  who 
every  day  would  exhibit  in  a  public  place,  selling 
their  remedies  and  recommending  them  as  infalli- 


2o8  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

ble,  while  we  should  find  them  afflicted  with  the 
same  infirmities  which  they  pretend  to  cure  ? 
Would  we  have  much  confidence  in  the  recipes 
of  these  charlatans,  who  would  bawl  out :  "  Take 
our  remedies,  their  effects  are  infallible — they  cure 
ever)'body  except  us?  "  What  would  we  think  to 
see  these  same  charlatans  pass  their  lives  in  com- 
plaining that  their  remedies  never  produce  any 
effect  upon  the  patients  who  take  them  ?  Finally, 
what  idea  would  we  form  of  the  foolishness  of  the 
common  man  who,  in  spite  of  this  confession,  would 
continue  to  pay  very  high  for  remedies  which  will 
not  be  beneficial  to  him  ?  The  priests  resemble 
alchemists,  v/ho  boldly  assert  that  they  have  the 
secret  of  making  gold,  while  they  scarcely  have 
clothing  enough  to  cover  their  nudity. 

The  ministers  of  religion  incessantly  declaim 
against  the  corruption  of  the  age,  and  complain 
loudly  of  the  little  success  of  their  teachings,  at 
the  same  time  they  assure  us  that  religion  is  the 
universal  remedy,  the  true  panacea  for  all  human 
evils.  These  priests  are  sick  themselves  ;  however, 
men  continue  to  frequent  their  stands  and  to  have 
faith  in  their  Divine  antidotes,  which,  according  to 
their  own  confession,  cure  nobody  ! 

CLV. — COUNTLESS  CALAMITIES  ARE  PRODUCED 
BY  RELIGION,  WHICH  HAS  TAINTED  MORAL- 
ITY AND  DISTURBED  ALL  JUST  IDEAS  AND 
ALL  SOUND   DOCTRINES. 

Religion,  especially  among  modern  people,  in 
taking  possession  of  morality,  totally  obscured  its 


Countless  Calamities  Produced  by  Religion.    209 

principles ;   it  has  rendered  men   unsocial  from  a 
sense  of  duty  ;  it  has  forced  them  to  be  inhuman 
toward  all  those  who  did  not   think  as  they  did. 
Theological  disputes,  equally  unintelligible  for  the 
parties  already  irritated  against   each  other,  have 
unsettled  empires,  caused  revolutions,  ruined  sov- 
ereigns, devastated  the  whole  of  Europe  ;  these  des- 
picable quarrels  could  not  be  extinguished  even  in 
rivers  of  blood.     After  the  extinction  of  Paganism 
the  people  established  a  religious  principle  of  go- 
ing into  a  frenzy,  every  time  that   an  opinion  was 
brought  forth  which  their  priests  considered  con- 
trary to  the  holy  doctrine.     The  votaries  of  a  re- 
ligion which  preaches  externally  but  charity,  har- 
mony, and    peace,  have   shown  themselves   more 
ferocious  than  cannibals  or  savages  every  time  that 
their  instructors  have  excited  them  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  their  brethren.     There  is  no  crime  which 
men  have  not  committed  in  the  idea  of  pleasing 
the  Deity  or  of  appeasing  His  wrath.     The  idea 
of  a  terrible  God  who  was  represented  as  a  despot, 
must  necessarily  have  rendered  His  subjects  wicked. 
Fear  makes  but  slaves,  and  slaves  are  cowardly,  low, 
cruel,  and  think  they  have  a  right  to  do  anything 
when  it  is  the  question  of  gaining  the  good-will  or 
of  escaping  the  punishments  of  the  master  whom 
they  fear.     Liberty  of  thought  can  alone  give  to 
men  humanity  and  grandeur  of  soul.     The  notion 
of  a  tyrant  God  can  create  but  abject,  angry,  quar- 
relsome, intolerant   slaves.     Every  religion  which 
supposes    a  God    easily   irritated,    jealous,   vindic- 
tive, punctiHous  about  His  rights  or  His  title,  a 


2IO  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

God  small  enough  to  be  offended  at  opinions  which 
we  have  of  Him,  a  God  unjust  enough  to  exact 
uniform  ideas  in  regard  to  Him,  such  a  religion  be- 
comes necessarily  turbulent,  unsocial,  sanguinary  ; 
the  worshipers  of  such  a  God  never  believe  they 
can,  without  crime,  dispense  with  hating  and  even 
destroying  all  those  whom  they  designate  as  adver- 
saries of  this  God  ;  they  would  believe  themselves 
traitors  to  the  cause  of  their  celestial  Monarch,  if 
they  should  live  on  good  terms  with  rebellious  fel- 
low-citizens. To  love  what  God  hates,  would  it  not 
be  exposing  one's  self  to  His  implacable  hatred  ? 
Infamous  persecutors,  and  you,  religious  cannibals  ! 
will  you  never  feel  the  folly  and  injustice  of  your 
intolerant  disposition  ?  Do  you  not  see  that  man 
is  no  more  the  master  of  his  religious  opinions,  of 
his  credulity  or  incredulity,  than  of  the  language 
which  he  learns  in  childhood,  and  which  he  can  not 
change  ?  To  tell  men  to  think  as  you  do,  is  it  not 
asking  a  foreigner  to  express  his  thoughts  in  your 
language  ?  To  punish  a  man  for  his  erroneous 
opinions,  is  it  not  punishing  him  for  having  been 
educated  differently  from  yourself?  If  I  am  in- 
credulous, is  it  possible  for  me  to  banish  from  my 
mind  the  reasons  which  have  unsettled  my  faith  ? 
If  God  allows  men  the  freedom  to  damn  themselves, 
is  it  your  business  ?  Are  you  wiser  and  more 
prudent  than  this  God  whose  rights  you  wish  to 
avenge  ? 


Every  Religion  is  Intolerant.  2 1 1 

CLVI. — EVERY     RELIGION      IS      INTOLERANT,     AND 
CONSEQUENTLY  DESTRUCTIVE  OF  BENEFICENCE. 

There  is  no  religious  person  who,  according  to 
his  temperament,  does  not  hate,  despise,  or  pity 
the  adherents  of  a  sect  different  from  his  own. 
The  dominant  religion  (which  is  never  but  that 
of  the  sovereign  and  the  armies)  always  makes  its 
superiority  felt  in  a  very  cruel  and  injurious  man- 
ner toward  the  weaker  sects.  There  does  not  exist 
yet  upon  earth  a  true  tolerance  ;  everywhere  a  jeal- 
ous God  is  worshiped,  and  each  nation  believes 
itself  His  friend  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others. 

Every  nation  boasts  itself  of  worshiping  the  true 
God,  the  universal  God,  the  Sovereign  of  Nature  ; 
but  when  we  come  to  examine  this  Monarch  of 
the  world,  we  perceive  that  each  organization,  each 
sect,  each  religious  party,  makes  of  this  powerful 
God  but  an  inferior  sovereign,  whose  cares  and 
kindness  extend  themselves  but  over  a  small  num- 
ber of  His  subjects  who  pretend  to  have  the  exclu- 
sive advantage  of  His  favors,  and  that  He  does  not 
trouble  Himself  about  the  others. 

The  founders  of  religions,  and  the  priests  who 
maintain  them,  have  intended  to  separate  the  na- 
tions which  they  indoctrinated,  from  other  nations  ; 
they  desired  to  separate  their  own  flock  by  distinct- 
ive features  ;  they  gave  to  their  votaries  Gods  in- 
imical to  other  Gods  as  well  as  the  forms  of  v  orship, 
dogmas,  ceremonies,  separately ;  they  persuaded 
them  especially  that  the  religions  of  others  were 
ungodly  and  abominable.  By  this  infamous  con- 
trivance, these  ambitious  impostors  took  exclusive 


212  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

possession  of  the  minds  of  their  votaries,  rendered 
them  unsocial,  and  made  them  consider  as  outcasts 
all  those  who  had  not  the  same  ideas  and  form  of 
worship  as  their  own.  This  is  the  way  religion 
succeeded  in  closing  the  heart,  and  in  banishing 
from  it  that  affection  which  man  ought  to  havR 
for  his  fellow-being.  Sociability,  tolerance,  human 
ity,  these  first  virtues  of  all  morality  are  totally  in 
compatible  with  religious  prejudices. 

CLVII. — ABUSE   OF   A   STATE   RELIGION. 

Every  national  religion  has  a  tendency  to  make 
man  vain,  unsocial,  and  wicked  ;  the  first  step  to- 
ward humanity  is  to  permit  each  one  to  follow 
peacefully  the  worship  and  the  opinions  which  suit 
him.  But  such  a  conduct  can  not  please  the  minis- 
ters of  religion,  who  wish  to  have  the  right  to  tyr- 
annize over  even  the  thoughts  of  men.  Blind  and 
bigoted  princes,  you  hate,  you  persecute,  you  de- 
vote heretics  to  torture,  because  you  are  persuaded 
that  these  unfortunate  ones  displease  God.  But 
do  you  not  claim  that  your  God  is  full  of  kindness? 
How  can  you  hope  to  please  Him  by  such  barba- 
rous actions  which  He  can  not  help  disapproving 
of?  Besides,  who  told  you  that  their  opinions  dis- 
please your  God  ?  Your  priests  told  you  !  But 
who  guarantees  that  your  priests  are  not  deceived 
themselves  or  that  they  do  not  wish  to  deceive 
you  ?  It  is  these  same  priests !  Princes !  it  is 
upon  the  perilous  word  of  your  priests  that  you 
commit  the  most  atrocious  and  the  most  unheard- 
of  crimes,  with  the  idea  of  pleasing  the  Deity  ! 


Religion  Authorizes  Crime.  213 

CLVIII.— RELIGION  GIVES  LICENSE  TO  THE  FE- 
ROCITY OF  THE  PEOPLE  BY  LEGITIMIZING 
IT,  AND  AUTHORIZES  CRIME  BY  TEACHING 
THAT  IT  CAN  BE  USEFUL  TO  THE  DESIGNS 
OF  GOD. 

"  Never,"  says  Pascal,  "  do  we  do  evil  so  thor- 
oughly and  so  willingly  as  when  we  do  it  through 
a  false  principle  of  conscience."  Nothing  is  more 
dangerous  than  a  religion  which  licenses  the  feroc- 
ity of  the  people,  and  justifies  in  their  eyes  the 
blackest  crimes  ;  it  puts  no  limits  to  their  wicked- 
ness as  soon  as  they  believe  it  authorized  by  their 
God,  whose  interests,  as  they  are  told,  can  justify 
all  their  actions.  If  there  is  a  question  of  religion, 
immediately  the  most  civilized  nations  become  true 
savages,  and  believe  everything  is  permitted  to 
them.  The  more  cruel  they  are,  the  more  agree- 
able they  suppose  themselves  to  be  to  their  God, 
whose  cause  they  imagine  can  not  be  sustained  by 
too  much  zeal.  All  religions  of  the  world  have 
authorized  countless  crimes.  The  Jews,  excited 
by  the  promises  of  their  God,  arrogated  to  them- 
selves the  right  of  exterminating  whole  nations  ; 
the  Romans,  whose  faith  was  founded  upon  the 
oracles  of  their  Gods,  became  real  brigands,  and 
conquered  and  ravaged  the  world  ;  the  Arabians, 
encouraged  by  their  Divine  preceptor,  carried  the 
sword  and  the  flame  among  Christians  and  idola- 
ters. The  Christians,  under  pretext  of  spreading 
their  holy  religion,  covered  the  two  hemispheres  a 
hundred  times  with  blood.  In  all  events  favorable 
to  their  own  interests,  which  they  always  call  the 


214  Common  Sense ,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

cause  of  God,  the  priests  show  us  the  finger  of 
God.  According  to  these  principles,  reHgious  big- 
ots have  the  hick  of  seeing  the  finger  of  God  in 
revolts,  in  revolutions,  massacres,  regicides,  prosti- 
tutions, infamies,  and,  if  these  things  contribute  to 
the  advantage  of  religion,  we  can  say,  then,  that 
God  uses  all  sorts  of  means  to  secure  His  ends.  Is 
there  anything  better  calculated  to  annihilate  every 
idea  of  morality  in  the  minds  of  men,  than  to  make 
them  understand  that  their  God,  who  is  so  power- 
ful and  so  perfect,  is  often  compelled  to  use  crime 
to  accomplish  His  designs  ? 

CLIX. — REFUTATION  OF  THE  ARGUMENT,  THAT 
THE  EVILS  ATTRIBUTED  TO  RELIGION  ARE 
BUT  THE  SAD  EFFECTS  OF  THE  PASSIONS  OF 
MEN. 

When  we  complain  about  the  violence  and  evils 
which  generally  religion  causes  upon  earth,  we  are 
answered  at  once,  that  these  excesses  are  not  due 
to  religion,  but  that  they  are  the  sad  effect  of  men's 
passions.  I  would  ask,  however,  what  unchained 
these  passions  ?  It  is  evidently  religion  ;  it  is  a  zeal 
which  renders  inhuman,  and  which  serves  to  cover 
the  greatest  infamy.  Do  not  these  disorders  prove 
that  religion,  instead  of  restraining  the  passions  of 
men,  does  but  cover  them  with  a  cloak  that  sanc- 
tifies them ;  and  that  nothing  would  be  more  bene- 
ficial than  to  tear  away  this  sacred  cloak  of  which 
men  make  such  a  bad  use  ?  What  horrors  would 
be  banished  from  society,  if  the  wicked  were  de- 
prived of  a  pretext  so  plausible  for  disturbing  it  I 


Morality  Incompatible  with  Religion.         215 

Instead  of  cherishing  peace  among  men,  the  priests 
stirred  up  hatred  and  strife.  They  pleaded  their 
conscience,  and  pretended  to  have  received  from 
Heaven  the  right  to  be  quarrelsome,  turbulent,  and 
rebellious.  Do  not  the  ministers  of  God  consider 
themselves  to  be  wronged,  do  they  not  pretend 
that  His  Divine  Majesty  is  injured  every  time  that 
the  sovereigns  have  the  temerity  to  try  to  prevent 
them  from  doing  injury?  The  priests  resemble 
that  irritable  woman,  who  cried  out  fire  !  murder  ! 
assassins !  while  her  husband  was  holding  her  hands 
to  prevent  her  from  beating  him. 

CLX. — ALL   MORALITY   IS   INCOMPATIBLE   WITH 
RELIGIOUS   OPINIONS. 

Notwithstanding  the  bloody  tragedies  which  re- 
ligion has  so  often  caused  in  this  world,  we  are  con- 
stantly told  that  there  can  be  no  morality  without 
religion.  If  we  judge  theological  opinions  by  their 
effects,  we  would  be  right  in  assuming  that  all  mo- 
rality is  perfectly  incompatible  with  the  religious 
opinions  of  men.  "  Imitate  God,"  is  constantly  re- 
peated to  us.  Ah !  what  morals  would  we  have  if 
we  should  imitate  this  God !  Which  God  should 
we  imitate?  Is  it  the  deist's  God?  But  even  this 
God  can  not  be  a  model  of  goodness  for  us.  If 
He  is  the  author  of  all,  He  is  equally  the  author  of 
the  good  and  of  the  bad  we  see  in  this  world ;  if 
He  is  the  author  of  order,  He  is  also  the  author 
of  disorder,  which  would  not  exist  without  His 
permission ;  if  He  produces,  He  destroys ;  if  He 
gives  life.  He  also  causes  death  ;  if  He  grants  abun- 


2l6  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

dance,  riches,  prosperity,  and  peace,  He  permits  or 
sends  famines,  poverty,  calamities,  and  wars.  How 
can  you  accept  as  a  model  of  permanent  beneficence 
the  God  of  theism  or  of  natural  religion,  whose 
favorable  intentions  are  at  every  moment  contra- 
dicted by  everything  that  transpires  in  the  world  ? 
Morality  needs  a  firmer  basis  than  the  example  of 
a  God  whose  conduct  varies,  and  whom  we  can  not 
call  good  but  by  obstinately  closing  the  eyes  to  the 
evil  which  He  causes,  or  permits  to  be  done  in  this 
world. 

Shall  we  imitate  the  good  and  great  Jupiter  of 
ancient  Paganism  ?  To  imitate  such  a  God  would 
be  to  take  as  a  model  a  rebellious  son,  who  wrests 
his  father's  throne  from  him  and  then  mutilates  his 
body;  it  is  imitating  a  debauchee  and  adulterer, 
an  incestuous,  intemperate  man,  whose  conduct 
would  cause  any  reasonable  mortal  to  blush.  What 
would  have  become  of  men  under  the  control  of 
Paganism  if  they  had  imagined,  according  to  Plato, 
that  virtue  consisted  in  imitating  the  gods  ? 

Must  we  imitate  the  God  of  the  Jews?  Will  we 
find  a  model  for  our  conduct  in  Jehovah?  He  is 
truly  a  savage  God,  really  created  for  an  ignorant, 
cruel,  and  immoral  people ;  He  is  a  God  who  is 
constantly  enraged,  breathing  only  vengeance  ;  who 
is  without  pity,  who  commands  carnage  and  rob- 
bery ;  in  a  word,  He  is  a  God  whose  conduct  can 
not  serve  as  a  model  to  an  honest  man,  and  who 
can  be  imitated  but  by  a  chief  of  brigands. 

Shall  we  imitate,  then,  the  Jesus  of  the  Chris- 
tians ?     Can  this  God,  who  died  to  appease  the  im- 


The  Morals  of  the  Gospel  Frnpracticable.      217 

placable  fury  of  His  Father,  serve  as  an  example 
which  men  ought  to  follow  ?     Alas  !  we  will  see  in 
Him  but  a  God,  or  rather  a  fanatic,  a  misanthrope, 
who  being  plunged  Himself  into  misery,  and  preach- 
ing to  the  wretched,  advises  them  to  be  poor,  to 
combat  and  extinguish  nature,  to  hate  pleasure,  to 
seek  sufferings,  and  to  despise  themselves  ;  He  tells 
them  to  leave  father,  mother,  all  the  ties  of  life,  in 
order  to    follow    Him.     What  beautiful  morality! 
you  will  say.     It  is  admirable,  no  doubt ;  it  must 
be  Divine,  because  it  is  impracticable  for  men.    But 
does  not  this  sublime  morality  tend  to  render  vir- 
tue despicable  ?     According  to  this  boasted  moral- 
ity of  the  man-God  of  the  Christians,  His  disciples 
in  this  lower  world  are,  like  Tantalus,  tormented 
with  burning  thirst,  which  they  are  not  permitted 
to  quench.     Do  not  such  morals  give  us  a  wonder- 
ful idea  of  nature's  Author?     If  He  has,  as  we  are 
assured,  created  everything  for  the  use  of  His  creat- 
ures, by  what  strange  caprice  does  He  forbid  the 
use  of  the  good  things  which  He  has  created  for 
them?     Is  the  pleasure  which  man  constantly  de- 
sires but  a  snare  that  God  has  maliciously  laid  in 
his  path  to  entrap  him  ? 

CLXI. — THE   MORALS   OF   THE   GOSPEL  ARE 
IMPRACTICABLE. 

The  votaries  of  Christ  would  like  to  make  us  re- 
gard as  a  miracle  the  establishment  of  their  religion, 
which  is  in  every  respect  contrary  to  nature,  op- 
posed to  all  the  inclinations  of  the  heart,  an  enemy 
to  physical  pleasures.     But  the  austerity  of  a  doc- 


2i8  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Mcslier. 

trine  has  a  tendency  to  render  it  more  wonderful 
to  the  ignorant.  The  same  reason  which  makes  us 
respect,  as  Divine  and  supernatural,  inconceivable 
mysteries,  causes  us  to  admire,  as  Divine  and  super- 
natural, a  morality  impracticable  and  beyond  the 
power  of  man.  To  admire  morals  and  to  practice 
them,  are  two  very  different  things.  All  the  Chris- 
tians continually  admire  the  morals  of  the  Gospel, 
but  it  is  practiced  but  by  a  small  number  of  saints ; 
admired  by  people  who  themselves  avoid  imitating 
their  conduct,  under  the  pretext  that  they  are  lack- 
ing either  the  power  or  the  grace. 

The  whole  universe  is  infected  more  or  less  with 
a  religious  morality  which  is  founded  upon  the 
opinion  that  to  please  the  Deity  it  is  necessary  to 
render  one's  self  unhappy  upon  earth.  We  see  in  all 
parts  of  our  globe  penitents,  hermits,  fakirs,  fanatics, 
who  seem  to  have  studied  profoundly  the  means 
of  tormenting  themselves  for  the  glory  of  a  Being 
whose  goodness  they  all  agree  in  celebrating.  Re 
ligion,  by  its  essence,  is  the  enemy  of  joy  and  oi 
the  welfare  of  men.  "  Blessed  are  those  who  suf- 
fer !  "  Woe  to  those  who  have  abundance  and  joy! 
These  are  the  rare  revelations  which  Christianity 
teaches ! 

CLXII. — A   SOCIETY   OF   SAINTS   WOULD   BE   IM- 
POSSIBLE. 

In  what  consists  the  saint  of  all  religions  ?  It  is 
a  man  who  prays,  fasts,  who  torments  himself,  who 
avoids  the  world,  who,  like  an  owl,  is  pleased  but 
in   solitude,  who   abstains  from   all   pleasure,  who 


A  Society  of  Saints  Impossible  2 1 9 

seems  frightened  at  every  object  which  turns  him 
a  moment  from  his  fanatical  meditations.  Is  this 
virtue?  Is  a  being  of  this  stamp  of  any  use  to 
himself  or  to  others?  Would  not  society  be  dis- 
solved, and  would  not  men  retrograde  into  barba- 
rism, if  each  one  should  be  fool  enough  to  wish  to 
be  a  saint  ? 

It  is  evident  that  the  literal  and  rigorous  practice 
of  the  Divine  morality  of  the  Christians  would  lead 
nations  to  ruin.  A  Christian  who  would  attain 
perfection,  ought  to  drive  away  from  his  mind  all 
that  can  alienate  him  from  heaven — his  true  coun- 
try. He  sees  upon  earth  but  temptations,  snares, 
and  opportunities  to  go  astray ;  he  must  fear  sci- 
ence as  injurious  to  faith ;  he  must  avoid  indus- 
try, as  it  is  a  means  of  obtaining  riches,  which  are 
fatal  to  salvation ;  he  must  renounce  preferments 
and  honors,  as  things  capable  of  exciting  his 
pride  and  calling  his  attention  away  from  his 
soul ;  in  a  word,  the  sublime  morality  of  Christ, 
if  it  were  not  impracticable,  would  sever  all  the 
ties  of  society. 

A  saint  in  the  world  is  no  more  useful  than  a 
saint  in  the  desert ;  the  saint  has  an  unhappy,  dis- 
contented, and  often  irritable,  turbulent  disposition  ; 
his  zeal  often  obliges  him,  conscientiously,  to  dis- 
turb society  by  opinions  or  dreams  which  his  van- 
ity makes  him  accept  as  inspirations  from  Heaven. 
The  annals  of  all  religions  are  filled  with  accounts 
of  anxious,  intractable,  seditious  saints,  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  by  ravages  that,  for  the 
greater  glory  of  God,  they  have  scattered  throu^- 


220  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

out  the  universe.  If  the  saints  who  live  in  solitude 
are  useless,  those  who  live  in  the  world  are  very 
often  dangerous.  The  vanity  of  performing  a  role, 
the  desire  of  distinguishing  themselves  in  the  eyes 
of  the  stupid  vulgar  by  a  strange  conduct,  consti- 
tute usually  the  distinctive  characteristics  of  great 
saints ;  pride  persuades  them  that  they  are  extra- 
ordinary men,  far  above  human  nature  ;  beings  who 
are  more  perfect  than  others ;  chosen  ones,  which 
God  looks  upon  with  more  complaisance  than  the 
rest  of  mortals.  Humility  in  a  saint  is,  'js  a  gen- 
eral rule,  but  a  pride  more  refined  than  that  of 
common  men.  It  must  be  a  very  ridiculo'iS  vanity 
which  can  determine  a  man  to  continua,'iy  war  with 
his  own  nature ! 

CLXIII. — HUMAN  NATURE  IS  NOT  DEPRAVED  ;  AND 
A  MORALITY  WHICH  CONTRADICTS  THIS  FACT 
IS   NOT   MADE   FOR   MAN. 

A  morality  which  contradicts  the  nature  of  man 
is  not  made  for  him.  But  you  will  say  that  man's 
nature  is  depraved.  In  what  consists  this  pretend- 
ed depravity?  Is  it  because  he  has  passions?  But 
are  not  passions  the  very  essence  of  man  ?  Must 
he  not  seek,  desire,  love  that  which  is,  or  that 
which  he  believes  to  be,  essential  to  his  happiness? 
Must  he  not  fear  and  avoid  that  which  he  judges 
injurious  or  fatal  to  him  ?  Excite  his  passions  by 
useful  objects ;  let  him  attach  himself  to  these 
same  objects,  divert  him  by  sensible  and  known 
motives  from  that  which  can  do  him  or  others 
ha«n,  and  you  will  make  of  him  a  reasonable  and 


Human  Nature  not  Depraved.  221 

virtuous  being.  A  man  without  passions  would 
be  equally  indifferent  to  vice  and  to  virtue. 

Holy  doctors  !  you  constantly  tell  us  that  man's 
nature  is  perverted  ;  you  tell  us  that  the  way  of  all 
flesh  is  corrupt ;  you  tell  us  that  nature  gives  us 
but  inordinate  inclinations.  In  this  case  you  ac- 
cuse your  God,  who  has  not  been  able  or  willing  to 
keep  this  nature  in  its  original  perfection.  If  this 
nature  became  corrupted,  why  did  not  this  God  re- 
pair it?  The  Christian  assures  me  that  human  nat- 
ure is  repaired,  that  the  death  of  his  God  has  re- 
established it  in  its  integrity.  How  comes  it  then, 
that  human  nature,  notwithstanding  the  death  of 
a  God,  is  still  depraved?  Is  it,  then,  a  pure  loss 
that  your  God  died?  What  becomes  of  His 
omnipotence  and  His  victory  over  the  Devil,  if 
it  is  true  that  the  Devil  still  holds  the  empire 
which,  according  to  you,  he  has  always  exercised 
in  the  world  ? 

Death,  according  to  Christian  theology,  is  the 
penalty  of  sin.  This  opinion  agrees  with  that  of 
some  savage  Negro  nations,  who  imagine  that  the 
death  of  a  man  is  always  the  supernatural  effect  of 
thewrath  of  the  Gods.  The  Christians  firmly  believe 
that  Christ  has  delivered  them  from  sin,  while  they 
see  that,  in  their  religion  as  in  the  others,  man  is 
subject  to  death.  To  say  that  Jesus  Christ  has  de- 
livered us  from  sin,  is  it  not  claiming  that  a  judge 
has  granted  pardon  to  a  guilty  man,  while  we  see 
him  sent  to  torture  ? 


222  Common  Sense,  by  Jiaa  Mcslier. 

CLXIV.— OF   jESUS   CHRIST,   THE   PRIEST'S   GOD. 

If,  closing  our  eyes  upon  all  that  transpires  in 
this  world,  we  should  rely  upon  the  votaries  of  the 
Christian  religion,  we  would  believe  that  the  com- 
ing of  our  Divine  Saviour  has  produced  the  most 
wonderful  revolution  and  the  most  complete  re- 
form in  the  morals  of  nations.  The  Messiah,  accord- 
ing to  Pascal,*  ought  of  Himself  alone  to  produce 
a  great,  select,  and  holy-  people  ;  conducting  and 
nourishing  it,  and  introducing  it  into  the  place  of 
repose  and  sanctity,  rendering  it  holy  to  God,  mak- 
ing it  the  temple  of  God,  saving  it  from  the  wrath 
of  God,  delivering  it  from  the  servitude  of  sin,  giv- 
ing laws  to  this  people,  engraving  these  laws  upon 
their  hearts,  offering  Himself  to  God  for  them, 
crushing  the  head  of  the  serpent,  etc.  This  great 
man  has  forgotten  to  show  us  the  people  upon 
whom  His  Divine  Messiah  has  produced  the  mi- 
raculous effects  of  which  He  speaks  with  so  much 
emphasis ;  so  far,  it  seems,  they  do  not  exist  upon 
the  earth  ! 

If  we  examine  ever  so  little  the  morals  of  the 
Christian  nations,  and  listen  to  the  clamors  of  their 
priests,  we  will  be  obliged  to  conclude  that  their 
God,  Jesus  Christ,  preached  without  fruit,  without 
success ;  that  His  Almighty  will  still  finds  in  men 
a  resistance,  over  which  this  God  either  can  not  or 
does  not  wish  to  triumph.  The  morality  of  this 
Divine  Doctor  which  His  disciples  admire  so  much, 
and  practice  so  little,  is  followed  during  a  whole 


*  See  the  Thoughts  of  Pascal. 


The  Dogma  of  the  Remission  of  Sins.        223 

century  but  by  half  a  dozen  of  obscure  saints,  fa- 
natical and  ignorant  monks,  who  alone  will  have 
the  glory  of  shining  in  the  celestial  court ;  all  the 
remainder  of  mortals,  although  redeemed  by  the 
blood  of  this  God,  will  be  the  prey  of  eternal 
flames. 

CLXV. — THE  DOGMA  OF  THE  REMISSION  OF  SINS 
HAS  BEEN  INVENTED  IN  THE  INTEREST  OF 
THE   PRIESTS. 

When  a  man  has  a  great  desire  to  sin,  he  thinks 
very  little  about  his  God  ;  more  than  this,  what- 
ever crimes  he  may  have  committed,  he  always 
flatters  himself  that  this  God  will  mitigate  the  se- 
verity of  his  punishments.  No  mortal  seriously 
believes  that  his  conduct  can  damn  him.  Although 
he  fears  a  terrible  God,  who  often  makes  him  trem- 
ble, every  time  he  is  strongly  tempted  he  succumbs 
and  sees  but  a  God  of  mercy,  the  idea  of  whom  quiets 
him.  Does  he  do  evil?  He  hopes  to  have  the  time 
to  correct  himself,  and  promises  earnestly  to  repent 
some  day. 

There  are  in  the  religious  pharmacy  infallible  re- 
ceipts for  calming  the  conscience  ;  the  priests  in 
every  country  possess  sovereign  secrets  for  disarm- 
ing the  wrath  of  Heaven.  However  true  it  may  be 
that  the  anger  of  Deity  is  appeased  by  prayers,  by 
offerings,  by  sacrifices,  by  penitential  tears,  we 
have  no  right  to  say  that  religion  holds  in  check 
the  irregularities  of  men ;  they  will  first  sin,  and 
afterward  seek  the  means  to  reconcile  God.  Every 
religion   which  expiates,  and  which  promises  the 


224  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

remission  of  crimes,  if  it  restrains  any,  it  encourages 
the  great  number  to  commit  evil.  Notwithstand- 
ing His  immutability,  God  is,  in  all  the  religions 
of  this  world,  a  veritable  Proteus.  His  priests 
show  Him  now  armed  with  severity,  and  then  full 
of  clemency  and  gentleness ;  now  cruel  and  piti- 
less, and  then  easily  reconciled  by  the  repentance 
and  the  tears  of  the  sinners.  Consequently,  men 
face  the  Deity  in  the  manner  which  conforms  the 
most  to  their  present  interests.  An  always  wrath- 
ful God  would  repel  His  worshipers,  or  cast  them 
into  despair.  Men  need  a  God  who  becomes  angry 
and  who  can  be  appeased ;  if  His  anger  alarms  a 
few  timid  souls.  His  clemency  reassures  the  deter- 
mined wicked  ones  who  intend  to  have  recourse 
sooner  or  later  to  the  means  of  reconciling  them- 
selves with  Him  ;  if  the  judgments  of  God  frighten 
a  few  faint-hearted  devotees  who  already  by  tem- 
perament and  by  habitude  are  not  inclined  to  evil, 
the  treasures  of  Divine  mercy  reassure  the  greatest 
criminals,  who  have  reason  to  hope  that  they  will 
participate  in  them  with  the  others. 

CLXVI. — THE  FEAR  OF  GOD  IS  POWERLESS  AGAINST 

HUMAN   PASSIONS. 

The  majority  of  men  rarely  think  of  God,  or,  at 
least,  do  not  occupy  themselves  much  with  Him. 
The  idea  of  God  has  so  little  stability,  it  is  so 
afflicting,  that  it  can  not  hold  the  imagination  for 
a  long  time,  except  in  some  sad  and  melancholy 
visionists  who  do  not  constitute  the  majority  of 
the  inhabitants  of  this  world.     The  common  man 


The  Invention  of  Hell.  225 

has  no  conception  of  it ;  his  weak  brain  becomes 
perplexed  the  moment  he  attempts  to  think  of 
Him.  The  business  man  thinks  of  nothing  but  his 
affairs  ;  the  courtier  of  his  intrigues  ;  worldly  men, 
women,  youth,  of  their  pleasures ;  dissipation  soon 
dispels  the  wearisome  notions  of  religion.  The 
ambitious,  the  avaricious,  and  the  debauchee  sedu- 
lously lay  aside  speculations  too  feeble  to  counter- 
balance their  diverse  passions. 

Whom  does  the  idea  of  God  overawe  ?     A  few 
weak   men  disappointed   and  disgusted  with   this 
world  ;   some  persons  whose  passions  are  already 
extinguished  by  age,  by  infirmities,  or  by  reverses 
of  fortune.     Religion   is  a  restraint  but  for  those 
whose  temperament  or  circumstances  have  already 
subjected  them  to  reason.     The  fear  of  God  does 
not  prevent  any  from   committing   sin  but  those 
who  do  not  wish  to  sin  very  much,  or  who  are  no 
longer  in  a  condition  to  sin.     To  tell  men  that  Di- 
vinity punishes  crime  in  this  world,  is  to  claim  as  a 
fact  that  which  experience  contradicts  constantly 
The  most  wicked   men  are  usually  the  arbiters  of 
the  world,  and  those  whom  fortune  blesses  with  its 
favors.     To  convince  us  of  the  judgments  of  God 
by  sending  us  to  the  other  life,  is  to  make  us  accept 
conjectures  in  order  to  destroy  facts  which  we  can 
not  dispute. 

CLXVII. — THE   INVENTION   OF   HELL  IS   TOO 
ABSURD   TO   PREVENT   EVIL. 

No  one  dreams  about  another  life  when  he  is 
very  much  absorbed  in  objects  which  he  meets  on 


226  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

earth.  In  the  eyes  of  a  passionate  lover,  the  pres- 
ence of  his  mistress  extinguishes  the  fires  of  hell, 
and  her  charms  blot  out  all  the  pleasures  of  Para- 
dise. Woman  !  you  leave,  you  say,  your  lover  for 
your  God  ?  It  is  that  your  lover  is  no  longer  the 
same  in  your  estimation  ;  or  your  lover  leaves  you. 
and  you  must  fill  the  void  which  is  made  in  your 
heart.  Nothing  is  more  common  than  to  see  am- 
bitious, perverse,  corrupt,  and  immoral  men  who 
are  religious,  and  who  sometimes  exhibit  even  zeal 
in  its  behalf;  if  they  do  not  practice  religion,  they 
promise  themselves  they  will  practice  it  some  day ; 
they  keep  it  in  reserve  as  a  remedy  which,  sooner 
or  later,  will  be  necessary  to  quiet  the  conscience 
for  the  evil  which  they  intend  yet  to  do.  Besides, 
devotees  and  priests  being  a  very  numerous,  active, 
and  powerful  party,  it  is  not  astonishing  to  see  im- 
postors and  thieves  seek  for  its  support  in  order  to 
gain  their  ends.  We  will  be  told,  no  doubt,  that 
many  honest  people  are  sincerely  religious  without 
profit  ;  but  is  uprightness  of  heart  always  accom- 
panied with  intelligence  ?  We  are  cited  to  a  great 
number  of  learned  men,  men  of  genius,  who  are 
very  religious.  This  proves  that  men  of  genius 
can  have  prejudices,  can  be  pusillanimous,  can  have 
an  imagination  which  seduces  thsm  and  prevents 
them  from  examining  objects  coolly.  Pascal  proves 
nothing  in  favor  of  religion,  except  that  a  man  of 
genius  can  possess  a  grain  of  weakness,  and  is  but 
a  child  when  he  is  weak  enough  to  listen  to  preju- 
dices. Pascal  himself  tells  us  "  that  the  mind  can 
be  strong  and  narrow,  and  just  as  extended  as  it  is 


What  is  Virtue  According  to  Theology  f      227 

weak."  He  says  more  :  '  We  can  have  our  senses 
all  right,  and  not  be  equally  able  in  all  things  ;  be- 
cause there  are  men  who,  being  right  in  a  certain 
sphere  of  things,  lose  themselves  in  others." 

CLXVIII.— ABSURDITY  OF  THE  MORALITY  AND 
OF  THE  RELIGIOUS  VIRTUES  ESTABLISHED 
SOLELY   IN   THE   INTEREST  OF  THE   PRIESTS. 

What  is  virtue  according  to  theology  ?  It  is,  we 
are  told,  the  conformity  of  men's  actions  with  the 
will  of  God.  But  who  is  God?  He  is  a  being 
whom  no  one  is  able  to  conceive  of,  and  whom, 
consequently,  each  one  modifies  in  his  own  way. 
What  is  the  will  of  God  ?  It  is  what  men  who 
have  seen  God,  or  whom  God  has  inspired,  have 
told  us.  Who  are  those  who  have  seen  God  ? 
They  are  either  fanatics,  or  scoundrels,  or  ambi- 
tious men,  whose  word  we  can  not  rely  upon.  To 
found  morality  upon  a  God  that  each  man  repre- 
sents differently,  that  each  one  composes  by  his 
own  idea,  whom  everybody  arranges  according  to 
his  own  temperament  and  his  own  interest,  is  evi- 
dently founding  morality  upon  the  caprice  and 
upon  the  imagination  of  men  ;  it  is  basing  it  upon 
the  whims  of  a  sect,  faction,  or  party,  who,  exclud- 
ing all  others,  claim  to  have  the  advantage  of  wor- 
shiping the  true  God. 

To  establish  morality,  or  the  duties  of  man,  upon 
the  Divine  will,  is  founding  it  upon  the  wishes,  the 
reveries,  or  the  interests  of  those  who  make  God 
talk  without  fear  of  contradiction.  In  every  re- 
ligion the  priests  alone  have  the   right  to  decide 


228  Common  Sense^  by  Jean  Meslicr. 

upon  what  pleases  or  displeases  their  God  ;  we  may 
rest  assured  that  they  will  decide  upon  what  pleases 
or  displeases  themselves. 

The  dogmas,  ceremonies,  the  morality  and  the 
virtues  which  all  religions  of  the  world  prescribe, 
are  visibly  calculated  only  to  extend  the  power  or 
to  increase  the  emoluments  of  the  founders  and 
of  the  ministers  of  these  religions  ;  the  dogmas  are 
obscure,  inconceivable,  frightful,  and,  thereby,  very 
liable  to  cause  the  imagination  to  wander,  and  to 
render  the  common  man  more  docile  to  those  who 
wish  to  domineer  over  him  ;  the  ceremonies  and 
practices  procure  fortune  or  consideration  to  the 
priests  ;  the  religious  morals  and  virtues  consist  in 
a  submissive  faith,  which  prevents  reasoning ;  in  a 
devout  humility,  which  assures  to  the  priests  the 
submission  of  their  slaves  ;  in  an  ardent  zeal,  when 
the  question  of  religion  is  agitated  ;  that  is  to  say, 
when  the  interest  of  these  priests  is  considered, 
all  religious  virtues  having  evidently  for  their  ob- 
ject the  advantage  of  the  priests. 

CLXIX. — WHAT  DOES  THAT  CHRISTIAN  CHARITY 
AMOUNT  TO,  SUCH  AS  THEOLOGIANS  TEACH 
AND   PRACTICE  ? 

When  we  reproach  the  theologians  with  the 
sterility  of  their  religious  virtues,  they  praise,  with 
emphasis,  charity,  that  tender  love  of  our  neighbor 
which  Christianity  makes  an  essential  duty  for  its 
disciples.  But,  alas !  what  becomes  of  this  pre- 
tended charity  as  soon  as  we  examine  the  actions 
of  the  Lord's  ministers  ?     Ask  if  you  must  love 


What  does  Christian  Charity  Amount  to?     229 

your  neighbor  if  he  is  impious,  heretical,  and  in- 
credulous, that  is  to  say,  if  he  does  not  think  as 
they  do  ?  Ask  them  if  you  must  tolerate  opinions 
contrary  to  those  which  they  profess  ?  Ask  them 
if  the  Lord  can  show  indulgence  to  those  who  are 
in  error  ?  Immediately  their  charity  disappears, 
and  the  dominating  clergy  will  tell  you  that  the 
prince  carries  the  sword  but  to  sustain  the  interests 
of  the  Most  High  ;  they  will  tell  you  that  for  love 
of  the  neighbor,  you  must  persecute,  imprison,  ex- 
ile, or  burn  him.  You  will  find  tolerance  among  a 
few  priests  who  are  persecuted  themselves,  but  who 
put  aside  Christian  charity  as  soon  as  they  have  the 
power  to  persecute  in  their  turn. 

The  Christian  religion  which  was  originally 
preached  by  beggars  and  by  very  wretched  men, 
strongly  recommends  alms-giving  under  the  name 
of  charity ;  the  faith  of  Mohammed  equally 
makes  it  an  indispensable  duty.  Nothing,  no 
doubt,  is  better  suited  to  humanity  than  to  as 
sist  the  unfortunate,  to  clothe  the  naked,  to  lend 
a  charitable  hand  to  whoever  needs  it.  But  would 
it  not  be  more  humane  and  more  charitable  to 
foresee  the  misery  and  to  prevent  the  poor  from 
increasing?  If  religion,  instead  of  deifying  princes, 
had  but  taught  them  to  respect  the  property  of 
their  subjects,  to  be  just,  and  to  exercise  but 
their  legitimate  lights,  we  should  not  see  such  a 
great  number  of  mendicants  in  their  realms.  A 
greedy,  unjust,  tyrannical  government  multiplies 
misery ;  the  rigor  of  taxes  produces  discourage- 
ment,  idleness,   indigence,  which,    on   their   part, 


230  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

produce  robbery,  murders,  and  all  kinds  of  crime. 
i{  the  sovereigns  had  more  humanity,  charity,  and 
justice,  their  States  would  not  be  peopled  by  so 
many  unfortunate  ones  whose  misery  becomes  im- 
possible to  soothe. 

The  Christian  and  Mohammedan  States  are 
filled  with  vast  and  richly  endowed  hospitals,  in 
which  we  admire  the  pious  charity  of  the  kings  and 
of  the  sultans  who  erected  them.  Would  it  not  have 
been  more  humane  to  govern  the  people  well,  to 
procure  them  ease,  to  excite  and  to  favor  industry 
and  trade,  to  permit  them  to  enjoy  in  safety  the 
fruits  of  their  labors,  than  to  oppress  them  under  a 
despotic  yoke,  to  impoverish  them  by  senseless 
wars,  to  reduce  them  to  mendicity  in  order  to  grat- 
ify an  immoderate  luxury,  and  after^vard  build 
sumptuous  monuments  which  can  contain  but  a 
very  small  portion  of  those  whom  they  have  ren- 
dered miserable?  Religion,  by  its  virtues,  has  but 
given  a  change  to  men  ;  instead  of  foreseeing  evils, 
it  applies  but  insufficient  remedies.  The  ministers 
of  Heaven  have  always  known  how  to  benefit 
themselves  by  the  calamities  of  others ;  public 
misery  became  their  element ;  they  made  them- 
selves the  administrators  of  the  goods  of  the  poor, 
the  distributors  of  alms,  the  depositaries  of  chari- 
ties ;  thereby  they  extended  and  sustained  at  alJ 
times  their  power  over  the  unfortunates  who  usual- 
ly compose  the  most  numerous,  the  most  anxious, 
the  most  seditious  part  of  society.  Thus  the  great- 
est evils  are  made  profitable  to  the  ministers  of 
the  Lord. 


IV/iai  docs  Christian  Charity  Amount  to  ?     231 

The  Christian  priests  tell  us  that  the  goods  which 
they  possess  are  the  goods  of  the  poor,  and  pretend 
by  this  title  that  their  possessions  are  sacred  ;  con- 
sequently, the  sovereigns  and  the  people  press 
themselves  to  accumulate  lands,  revenues,  treas- 
ures for  them  ;  under  pretext  of  charity,  our  spirit- 
ual guides  have  become  very  opulent,  and  enjoy, 
in  the  sight  of  the  impoverished  nations,  goods 
which  were  destined  but  for  the  miserable  ;  the  lat- 
ter, far  from  murmuring  about  it,  applaud  a  de- 
ceitful generosity  which  enriches  the  Church,  but 
which  very  rarely  alleviates  the  sufferings  of  the 
poor. 

According  to  the  principles  of  Christianity,  pov- 
erty itself  is  a  virtue,  and  it  is  this  virtue  which  the 
sovereigns  and  the  priests  make  their  slaves  ob- 
serve the  most.  According  to  these  ideas,  a  great 
number  of  pious  Christians  have  renounced  with 
good-will  the  perishable  riches  of  the  earth ;  have 
distributed  their  patrimony  to  the  poor,  and  have 
retired  into  a  desert  to  live  a  life  of  voluntary  indi- 
gence. But  very  soon  this  enthusiasm,  this  super- 
natural taste  for  misery,  must  surrender  to  nature. 
The  successors  to  these  voluntary  poor,  sold  to  the 
religious  people  their  prayers  and  their  powerful 
intercession  with  the  Deity ;  they  became  rich  and 
powerful  ;  thus,  monks  and  hermits  lived  in  idle- 
ness, and,  under  the  pretext  of  charity,  devoured 
insultingly  the  substance  of  the  poor.  Poverty  of 
spirit  was  that  of  which  religion  made  always  the 
greatest  use.  The  fundamental  virtue  of  all  relig- 
ion, that  is  to  say,  the  most  useful  one  to  its  minis- 


232  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Mcslier. 

ters,  is  faith.  It  consists  in  an  unlimited  credulity, 
which  causes  men  to  believe,  without  examination, 
all  that  which  the  interpreters  of  the  Deity  wish 
them  to  believe.  With  the  aid  of  this  wonderful 
virtue,  the  priests  became  the  arbiters  of  justice 
and  of  injustice ;  of  good  and  of  evil ;  they  found 
it  easy  to  commit  crimes  when  crimes  became 
necessary  to  their  interests.  Implicit  faith  has 
been  the  source  of  the  greatest  outrages  which 
have  been  committed  upon  the  earth. 

CLXX. — CONFESSION,  THAT  GOLDEN  MINE  FOR  THE 
PRIESTS,  HAS  DESTROYED  THE  TRUE  PRINCI- 
PLES  OF   MORALITY. 

He  who  first  proclaimed  to  the  nations  that, 
when  man  had  wronged  man,  he  must  ask  God's 
pardon,  appease  His  wrath  by  presents,  and  offer 
Him  sacrifices,  obviously  subverted  the  true  prin- 
ciples of  morality.  According  to  these  ideas,  men 
imagine  that  they  can  obtain  from  the  King  of 
Heaven,  as  well  as  from  the  kings  of  the  earth,  per- 
mission to  be  unjust  and  wicked,  or  at  least  pardon 
for  the  evil  which  they  might  commit. 

Morality  is  founded  upon  the  relations,  the  needs, 
and  the  constant  interests  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
earth ;  the  relations  which  subsist  between  men 
and  God  are  either  entirely  unknown  or  imaginary. 
The  religion  associating  God  with  men  has  visibly 
weakened  or  destroyed  the  ties  which  unite  men. 

Mortals  imagine  that  they  can,  with  impunity, 
injure  each  other  by  making  a  suitable  reparation 
to  the  Almighty  Being,  who  is  supposed  to  have 


Confession  the  Priests*  Golden  Mine.         233 

the  right  to  remit  all  the  injuries  done  to  His 
creatures.  Is  there  anything  more  liable  to  en- 
courage wickedness  and  to  embolden  to  crime,  than 
to  persuade  men  that  there  exists  an  invisible  be- 
ing who  has  the  right  to  pardon  injustice,  rapine, 
perfidy,  and  all  the  outrages  they  can  inflict  upon 
society?  Encouraged  by  these  fatal  ideas,  we  see 
the  most  perverse  men  abandon  themselves  to  the 
greatest  crimes,  and  expect  to  repair  them  by  im- 
ploring Divine  mercy ;  their  conscience  rests  in 
peace  when  a  priest  assures  them  that  Heaven  is 
quieted  by  sincere  repentance,  which  is  very  useless 
to  the  world  ;  this  priest  consoles  them  in  the  name 
of  Deity,  if  they  consent  in  reparation  of  their  faults 
to  divide  with  His  ministers  the  fruits  of  their  plun- 
derings,  of  their  frauds,  and  of  their  wickedness. 
Morality  united  to  religion,  becomes  necessarily 
subordinate  to  it.  In  the  mind  of  a  religious  per- 
son, God  must  be  preferred  to  His  creatures;  "  It 
is  better  to  obey  Him  than  men  !  "  The  interests 
of  the  Celestial  Monarch  must  be  above  those  of 
weak  mortals.  But  the  interests  of  Heaven  are 
evidently  the  interests  of  the  ministers  of  Heaven ; 
from  which  it  follows  evidently,  that  in  all  religions, 
the  priests,  under  pretext  of  Heaven's  in  eres  s,  or 
of  God's  glory,  will  be  able  to  dispense  with  the 
duties  of  human  morals  when  they  do  not  agree 
with  the  duties  which  God  is  entitled  to  impose. 

Besides,  He  who  has  the  power  to  pardon  crimes, 
has  He  not  the  right  to  order  them  committed  ? 


234  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

CLXXI.— THE   SUPPOSITION   OF  THE   EXISTENCE 
OF  A   GOD   IS   NOT   NECESSARY  TO   MORALITY. 

We  are  constantly  told  that  without  a  God,  there 
can  be  no  moral  obligation  ;  that  it  is  necessary  for 
men  and  for  the  sovereigns  themselves  to  have  a 
lawgiver  sufficiently  powerful  to  compel  them  to 
be  moral ;  moral  obligation  implies  a  law ;  but  this 
law  arises  from  the  eternal  and  necessary  relations 
of  things  among  themselves,  which  have  nothing 
in  common  with  the  existence  of  a  God.  The  rules 
which  govern  men's  conduct  spring  from  their  own 
nature,  which  they  are  supposed  to  know,  and  not 
from  the  Divine  nature,  of  which  they  have  no  con- 
ception ;  these  rules  compel  us  to  render  ourselves 
estimable  or  contemptible,  amiable  or  hateful, 
worthy  of  reward  or  of  punishments,  happy  or  un- 
happy, according  to  the  extent  to  which  we  observe 
them.  The  law  that  compels  man  not  to  harm 
himself,  is  inherent  in  the  nature  of  a  sensible 
being,  who,  no  matter  how  he  came  into  this 
world,  or  what  can  be  his  fate  in  another,  is  com- 
•  pelled  by  his  very  nature  to  seek  his  welfare  and 
to  shun  evil,  to  love  pleasure  and  to  fear  pain.  The 
law  which  compels  a  man  not  to  harm  others  and 
to  do  good,  is  inherent  in  the  nature  of  sensible 
beings  living  in  society,  who,  by  their  nature,  are 
compelled  to  despise  those  who  do  them  no  good, 
and  to  detest  those  who  oppose  their  happiness. 
Whether  there  exists  a  God  or  not,  whether  this 
God  has  spoken  or  not,  men's  moral  duties  will 
always  be  the  same  so  long  as  they  possess  theii 


Religion  Opposed  to  Man  s  Nature.  235 

own  nature  ;  that  is  to  say,  so  long  as  they  are 
sensible  beings.  Do  men  need  a  God  whom  they 
do  not  know,  or  an  invisible  lawgiver,  or  a  mys- 
terious religion,  or  chimerical  fears  in  order  to 
comprehend  that  all  excess  tends  ultimately  to  de- 
stroy them,  and  that  in  order  to  preserve  them- 
selves they  must  abstain  from  it ;  that  in  order  to 
be  loved  by  others,  they  must  do  good  ;  that  doing 
evil  is  a  sure  means  of  incurring  their  hatred  and 
vengeance?  "Before  the  law  there  was  no  sin." 
Nothing  is  more  false  than  this  maxim.  It  is 
enough  for  a  man  to  be  what  he  is,  to  be  a  sensible 
being  in  order  to  distinguish  that  which  pleases  or 
displeases  him.  It  is  enough  that  a  man  knows 
that  another  man  is  a  sensible  being  like  himself, 
in  order  for  him  to  know  what  is  useful  or  injurious 
to  him.  It  is  enough  that  man  needs  his  fellow- 
creature,  in  order  that  he  should  fear  that  he  might 
produce  unfavorable  impressions  upon  him.  Thus 
a  sentient  and  thinking  being  needs  but  to  feel  and 
to  think,  in  order  to  discover  that  which  is  due  to 
him  and  to  others.  I  feel,  and  another  feels,  like 
myself;  this  is  the  foundation  of  all  morality. 

CLXXII. — RELIGION  AND  ITS  SUPERNATURAL  MO- 
RALITY ARE  FATAL  TO  THE  PEOPLE,  AND 
OPPOSED   TO   man's   NATURE. 

We  can  judge  of  the  merit  of  a  system  of  morals 
but  by  its  conformity  with  man's  nature.  Accord- 
ing to  this  comparison,  we  have  a  right  to  reject  it, 
if  we  find  it  detrimental  to  the  welfare  of  mankind. 
Whoever  has  seriously  meditated  upon  religion  and 


236  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

its  supernatural  morality,  whoever  has  weighed  its 
advantages  and  disadvantages,  will  become  con- 
v'inced  that  they  are  both  injurious  to  the  interests 
of  the  human  race,  or  directly  opposed  to  man's 
nature. 

^^ People,  to  arms  I  Your  God's  cause  is  at  stake  I 
Heaveti  is  outraged !  Faith  is  i?i  danger  I  Down 
upon  infidelity,  blasphemy,  and  heresy  I  " 

By  the  magical  power  of  these  valiant  words, 
which  the  people  never  understand,  the  priests  in 
all  ages  were  the  leaders  in  the  revolts  of  nations, 
in  dethroning  kings,  in  kindling  civil  wars,  and  in 
imprisoning  men.  When  we  chance  to  examine 
the  important  objects  which  have  excited  the  Celes- 
tial wrath  and  produced  so  many  ravages  upon  the 
earth,  it  is  found  that  the  foolish  reveries  and  the 
strange  conjectures  of  some  theologian  who  did 
not  understand  himself,  or,  the  pretensions  of  the 
clergy,  have  severed  all  ties  of  society  and  inun- 
dated the  human  race  in  its  own  blood  and  tears. 

CLXXIII. — HOW  THE  UNION  OF  RELIGION  AND 
POLITICS  IS  FATAL  TO  THE  PEOPLE  AND  TO 
THE   KINGS. 

The  sovereigns  of  this  world  in  associating  the 
Deity  in  the  government  of  their  realms,  in  pre- 
tending to  be  His  lieutenants  and  His  representa- 
tives upon  earth,  in  admitting  that  they  hold  their 
power  from  Him,  must  necessarily  accept  His  min- 
isters as  rivals  or  as  masters.  Is  it,  then,  astonishing 
that  the  priests  have  often  made  the  kings  feel  the 
superiority  of  the  Celestial  Monarch  ?     Have  they 


The  Union  of  Religion  and  Politics  Fatal.     237 

not  more  than  once  made  the  temporal  princes 
understand  that  the  greatest  physical  power  is 
compelled  to  surrender  to  the  spiritual  power  of 
opinion  ?  Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  serve 
two  masters,  especially  when  they  do  not  agree 
upon  what  they  demand  of  their  subjects.  The 
anion  of  religion  with  politics  has  necessarily  caused 
a  double  legislation  in  the  States.  The  law  of  God, 
interpreted  by  His  priests,  is  often  contrary  to  the 
law  of  the  sovereign  or  to  the  interest  of  the  State. 
When  the  princes  are  firm,  and  sure  of  the  love  of 
their  subjects,  God's  law  is  sometimes  obliged  to 
comply  with  the  wise  intentions  of  the  temporal 
sovereign  ;  but  more  often  the  sovereign  authority 
is  obliged  to  retreat  before  the  Divine  authority, 
that  is  to  say,  before  the  interests  of  the  clergy. 
Nothing  is  more  dangerous  for  a  prince,  than  to 
meddle  with  ecclesiastical  affairs  [to  put  his  hands 
into  the  holy-ivater  pot),  that  is  to  say,  to  attempt 
the  reform  of  abuses  consecrated  by  religion.  God 
is  never  more  angry  than  when  the  Divine  rights, 
the  privileges,  the  possessions,  and  the  immunities 
of  His  priests  are  interfered  with. 

Metaphysical  speculations  or  the  religious  opin- 
ions of  men,  never  influence  their  conduct  except 
when  they  believe  them  conformed  to  their  inter- 
ests. Nothing  proves  this  truth  more  forcibly  than 
the  conduct  of  a  great  number  of  princes  in  regard 
to  the  spiritual  power,  which  we  see  them  very 
often  resist.  Should  not  a  sovereign  who  is  per- 
suaded of  the  importance  and  the  rights  of  relig- 
ion, conscientiously  feel  himself  obliged  to  receive 


238  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

with  respect  the  orders  of  his  priests,  and  consider 
them  as  commandments  of  the  Deity  F  There  was 
a  time  when  the  kings  and  the  people,  more  con- 
formable, and  convinced  of  the  rights  of  the  spirit- 
ual power,  became  its  slaves,  surrendered  to  it  on 
all  occasions,  and  were  but  docile  instruments  in 
its  hands ;  this  happy  time  is  no  more.  By  a 
strange  inconsistency,  we  sometimes  see  the  most 
religious  monarchs  oppose  the  enterprises  of 
those  whom  they  regard  as  God's  ministers.  A 
sovereign  who  is  filled  with  religion  or  respect  for 
his  God,  ought  to  be  constantly  prostrate  before 
his  priests,  and  regard  them  as  his  true  sovereigns. 
Is  there  a  power  upon  the  earth  which  has  the 
right  to  measure  itself  with  that  of  the  Most  High  ? 

CLXXIV.— CREEDS   ARE    BURDENSOME    AND    RUIN- 
OUS  TO   THE   MAJORITY   OF   NATIONS. 

Have  the  princes  who  believe  themselves  inter- 
ested in  propagating  the  prejudices  of  their  sub- 
jects, reflected  well  upon  the  effects  which  are  pro- 
duced by  privileged  demagogues,  who  have  the 
right  to  speak  when  they  choose,  and  excite  in  the 
name  of  Heaven  the  passions  of  many  millions  of 
their  subjects?  What  ravages  would  not  these 
holy  haranguers  cause  should  they  conspire  to  dis- 
turb a  State,  as  they  have  so  often  done  ? 

Nothing  is  more  onerous  and  more  ruinous  for 
the  greatest  part  of  the  nations  than  the  worship 
of  their  Gods !  Everywhere  their  ministers  not 
only  rank  as  the  first  order  in  the  State,  but  also 
enjoy  the  greater  portion  of  society's  benefits,  and 


Religion  Paralyzes  Morality.  239 

have  the  right  to  levy  continual  taxes  upon  their 
fellow-citizens.  What  real  advantages  do  these 
organs  of  the  Most  High  procure  for  the  people  in 
exchange  for  the  immense  profits  which  they  draw 
from  them?  Do  they  give  them  in  exchange  for 
their  wealth  and  their  courtesies  anything  but  mys- 
teries, hypotheses,  ceremonies,  subtle  questions,  in- 
terminable quarrels,  which  very  often  their  States 
must  pay  for  with  their  blood  ? 

CLXXV. — RELIGION   PARALYZES   MORALITY. 

Religion,  which  claims  to  be  the  firmest  support 
of  morality,  evidently  deprives  it  of  its  true  motor, 
to  substitute  imaginary  motors,  inconceivable  chi- 
meras, which,  being  obviously  contrary  to  common 
sense,  can  not  be  firmly  believed  by  any  one.  Ev- 
erybody assures  us  that  he  believes  firmly  in  a  God 
who  rewards  and  punishes  ;  everybody  claims  to  be 
persuaded  of  the  existence  of  a  hell  and  of  a  Para- 
dise ;  however,  do  we  see  that  these  ideas  render 
men  better  or  counterbalance  in  the  minds  of  the 
greatest  number  of  them  the  slightest  interest? 
Each  one  assures  us  that  he  is  afraid  of  God's  judg- 
ments, although  each  one  gives  vent  to  his  passions 
when  he  believes  himself  sure  of  escaping  the  judg- 
ments of  men.  The  fear  of  invisible  powers  is  rarely 
as  great  as  the  fear  of  visible  powers.  Unknown  or 
distant  sufferings  make  less  impression  upon  people 
than  the  erected  gallows,  or  the  example  of  a 
hanged  man.  There  is  scarcely  any  courtier  who 
fears  God's  anger  more  than  the  displeasure  of  his 
master.     A  pension,  a  title,  a  ribbon,  are  sufficient 


240  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

to  make  one  forget  the  torments  of  hell  and  the 
pleasures  of  the  celestial  court.  A  woman's  caresses 
expose  him  every  day  to  the  displeasure  of  the 
Most  High.  A  joke,  a  banter,  a  bon-mot,  make 
more  impression  upon  the  man  of  the  world  than 
all  the  grave  notions  of  his  religion.  Are  we  not 
assured  that  a  true  repentance  is  sufficient  to  ap- 
pease Divinity?  However,  we  do  not  see  that  this 
true  repentance  is  sincerely  expressed  ;  at  least,  we 
veiy  rarely  see  great  thieves,  even  in  the  hour  of 
death,  restore  the  goods  which  they  know  they 
have  unjustly  acquired.  Men  persuade  themselves, 
no  doubt,  that  they  will  submit  to  the  eternal  fire, 
if  they  can  not  guarantee  themselves  against  it. 
But  as  settlements  can  be  made  with  Heaven  by 
giving  the  Church  a  portion  of  their  fortunes,  there 
Tire  very  few  religious  thieves  who  do  not  die  per- 
fectly quieted  about  the  manner  in  which  they 
gained  their  riches  in  this  world. 

CLXXVI. — FATAL  CONSEQUENCES   OF  PIETY. 

Even  by  the  confession  of  the  most  ardent  de- 
fenders of  religion  and  of  its  usefulness,  nothing  is 
more  rare  than  sincere  conversions ;  to  which  we 
might  add,  nothing  is  more  useless  to  society. 
Men  do  not  become  disgusted  with  the  world  until 
the  world  is  disgusted  with  them  ;  a  woman  gives 
herself  to  God  only  when  the  world  no  longer 
wants  her.  Her  vanity  finds  in  religious  devotion 
a  role  which  occupies  her  and  consoles  her  for  the 
ruin  of  her  charms.  She  passes  her  time  in  the 
most  trifling  practices,  parties,  intrigues,  invectives, 


Hope  of  Future  Life  Unnecessary  to  Morality.  241 

and  slander;  zeal  furnishes  her  the  means  of  dis- 
tinguishing herself  and  becoming  an  object  of  con- 
sideration in  the  religious  circle.  If  the  bigots 
have  the  talent  to  please  God  and  His  priests,  they 
rarely  possess  that  of  pleasing  society  or  of  render- 
ing themselves  useful  to  it.  Religion  for  a  devotee 
is  a  veil  which  covers  and  justifies  all  his  passions, 
his  pride,  his  bad  humor,  his  anger,  his  vengeance, 
his  impatience,  his  bitterness.  Religion  arrogates 
to  itself  a  tyrannical  superiority  which  banishes 
from  commerce  all  gentleness,  gayety,  and  joy ;  it 
gives  the  right  to  censure  others ;  to  capture  and 
to  exterminate  the  infidels  for  the  glory  of  God  ;  it 
is  very  common  to  be  religious  and  to  have  none 
of  the  virtues  or  the  ;iualities  necessary  to  social 
life. 

CLXXVII. — THE  SUPPOSITION  OF  ANOTHER  LIFE 
IS  NEITHER  CONSOLING  TO  MAN  NOR  NECES- 
SARY  TO   MORALITY. 

We  are  assured  that  the  dogma  of  another  life  is 
of  the  greatest  importance  to  the  peace  of  society ; 
it  is  imagined  that  without  it  men  would  have  no 
motives  for  doing  good.  Why  do  we  need  terrors 
and  fables  to  teach  any  reasonable  man  how  he 
ought  to  conduct  himself  upon  earth?  Does  not 
each  one  of  us  see  that  he  has  the  greatest  interest 
in  deserving  the  approbation,  esteem,  and  kindness 
of  the  beings  which  surround  him,  and  in  avoiding 
all  that  can  cause  the  censure,  the  contempt,  and 
the  resentment  of  society?  No  matter  how  short 
the  duration  of  a  festival,  of  a  conversation,  or  of  a 


242  Common  SensCy  by  yean  Meslier, 

visit  may  be,  does  not  each  one  of  us  wish  to  act  a 
befitting  part  in  it,  agreeable  to  himself  and  to 
others?  If  life  is  but  a  passage,  let  us  try  to  make 
it  easy ;  it  can  not  be  so  if  we  lack  the  regards  of 
those  who  travel  with  us. 

Religion,  which  is  so  sadly  occupied  with  its 
gloomy  reveries,  represents  man  to  us  as  but  a  pil- 
grim upon  earth ;  it  concludes  that  in  order  to 
travel  with  more  safety,  he  should  travel  alone ; 
renounce  the  pleasures  which  he  meets  and  deprive 
himself  of  the  amusements  which  could  console  him 
for  the  fatigues  and  the  weariness  of  the  road.  A 
stoical  and  morose  philosophy  sometimes  gives  us 
counsels  as  senseless  as  religion  ;  but  a  more  ra- 
tional philosophy  inspires  us  to  strew  flowers  on 
life's  pathway ;  to  dispel  melancholy  and  panic  ter- 
rors ;  to  link  our  interests  with  those  of  our  travel- 
ing companions  ;  to  divert  ourselves  by  gayety  and 
honest  pleasures  from  the  pains  and  the  crosses  to 
which  we  are  so  often  exposed.  We  are  made  to 
feel,  that  in  order  to  travel  pleasantly,  we  should 
abstain  from  that  which  could  become  injurious  to 
ourselves,  and  to  avoid  with  great  care  that  which 
could  make  us  odious  to  our  associates. 

CLXXVIII. — AN  ATHEIST  HAS  MORE  MOTIVES  FOR 
ACTING  UPRIGHTLY,  MORE  CONSCIENCE,  THAN 
A   RELIGIOUS   PERSON. 

It  is  asked  what  motives  has  an  atheist  for  do- 
ing right.  He  can  have  the  motive  of  pleasing 
himself  and  his  fellow-creatures  ;  of  living  happily 
and  tranquilly ;    of  making  himself  loved  and  re- 


An  Atheist's  Motives.  243 

spected  by  men,  whose  existence  and  whose  dis- 
positions are  better  known  than  those  of  a  being 
impossible  to  understand.  Can  he  who  fears  not 
the  Gods,  fear  anything?  He  can  fear  men,  their 
contempt,  their  disrespect,  and  the  punishments 
which  the  laws  inflict  ;  finally,  he  can  fear  hi?nsclf  ; 
he  can  be  afraid  of  the  remorse  that  all  those  ex- 
perience whose  conscience  reproaches  them  for 
having  deserved  the  hatred  of  their  fellow-beings. 
Conscience  is  the  inward  testimony  which  we  ren- 
der to  ourselves  for  having  acted  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  deserve  the  esteem  or  the  censure  of  those 
with  whom  we  associate.  This  conscience  is  based 
upon  the  knowledge  which  we  have  of  men,  and 
of  the  sentiments  which  our  actions  must  awaken 
in  them.  A  religious  person's  conscience  persuades 
him  that  he  has  pleased  or  displeased  his  God,  of 
whom  he  has  no  idea,  and  whose  obscure  and 
doubtful  intentions  are  explained  to  him  only  by 
suspicious  men,  who  know  no  more  of  the  essence 
of  Divinity  than  he  does,  and  who  do  not  agree 
upon  what  can  please  or  displease  God.  In  a  word, 
the  conscience  of  a  credulous  man  is  guided  by 
men  whose  own  conscience  is  in  error,  or  whose 
interest  extinguishes  intelligence. 

Can  an  atheist  have  conscience  ?  What  are  his 
motives  for  abstaining  from  secret  vices  and  crimes 
of  which  other  men  are  ignorant,  and  which  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  laws  ?  He  can  be  assured  by 
constant  experience  that  there  is  no  vice  which,  in 
the  nature  of  things,  does  not  bring  its  own  pun- 
ishment.    If  he  wishes  to  preserve  himself,  he  will 


244  Co7nmon  Sense,  by  yean  Me  slier. 

avoid  all  those  excesses  which  can  be  injurious  to 
his  health  ;  he  would  not  desire  to  live  and  linger, 
thus  becoming  a  burden  to  himself  and  others. 
In  regard  to  secret  crimes,  he  would  avoid  them 
through  fear  of  being  ashamed  of  himself,  from 
whom  he  can  not  hide.  If  he  has  reason,  he  will 
know  the  price  of  the  esteem  that  an  honest  man 
should  have  for  himself.  He  will  know,  besides, 
that  unexpected  circumstances  can  unveil  to  the 
eyes  of  others  the  conduct  which  he  feels  inter- 
ested in  concealing.  The  other  world  gives  no 
motive  for  doing  well  to  him  who  finds  no  motive 
for  it  here. 

CLXXIX. — AN  ATHEISTICAL  KING  WOULD  BE  PREF- 
ERABLE TO  ONE  WHO  IS  RELIGIOUS  AND 
WICKED,   AS   WE   OFTEN   SEE   THEM. 

The  speculating  atheist,  the  theist  will  tell  us, 
may  be  an  honest  man,  but  his  writings  will  cause 
atheism  in  politics.  Princes  and  ministers,  being 
no  longer  restrained  by  the  fear  of  God,  will  give 
themselves  up  without  scruple  to  the  most  fright- 
ful excesses.  But  no  matter  what  we  can  suppose 
of  the  depravity  of  an  atheist  on  a  throne,  can  it 
ever  be  any  greater  or  more  injurious  than  that  of 
so  many  conquerors,  tyrants,  persecutors,  of  am- 
bitious and  perverse  courtiers,  who,  without  being 
atheists,  but  who,  being  very  often  religious,  do 
not  cease  to  make  humanity  groan  under  the 
weight  of  their  crimes  ?  Can  an  atheistical  king 
inflict  more  evil  on  the  world  than  a  Louis  XL,  a 
Philip  IL,  a  Richelieu,  who  have  all  allied  religion 


Morality  is  Acquired  by  Philosophy.  245 

tvith  crime  ?  Nothing  is  rarer  than  atheistical 
princes,  and  nothing  more  common  than  very  bad 
and  very  religious  tyrants. 

CLXXX. — THE   MORALITY   ACQUIRED    BY   PHILOSO- 
PHY  IS    SUFFICIENT   TO  VIRTUE. 

Any  man  who  reflects  can  not  fail  of  knowing 
his  duties,  of  discovering  the  relations  which  sub- 
sist between  men,  of  meditating  upon  his  own  nat- 
ure, of  discerning  his  needs,  his  inclinations,  and 
his  desires,  and  of  perceiving  what  he  owes  to  the 
beings  necessary  to  his  own  happiness.  These  re- 
flections naturally  lead  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
morality  which  is  the  most  essential  for  society. 
Every  man  who  loves  to  retire  within  himself  in 
order  to  study  and  seek  for  the  principles  of  things, 
has  no  very  dangerous  passions  ;  his  greatest  pas- 
sion will  be  to  know  the  truth,  and  his  greatest 
ambition  to  show  it  to  others.  Philosophy  is  bene- 
ficial in  cultivating  the  heart  and  the  mind.  In  re- 
gard to  morals,  has  not  he  who  reflects  and  reasons 
the  advantage  over  him  who  does  not  reason  ? 

If  ignorance  is  useful  to  priests  and  to  the  op- 
pressors of  humanity,  it  is  very  fatal  to  society. 
Man,  deprived  of  intelligence,  does  not  enjoy  the 
use  of  his  reason  ;  man,  deprived  of  reason  and  in- 
telligence, is  a  savage,  who  is  liable  at  any  moment 
to  be  led  into  crime.  Morality,  or  the  science  of 
moral  duties,  is  acquired  but  by  the  study  of  man 
and  his  relations.  He  who  does  not  reflect  for  him- 
self does  not  know  true  morals,  and  can  not  walk 
the  road  of  virtue.     The  less  men  reason,  the  more 


246  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

wicked  they  are.  The  barbarians,  the  princes,  the 
great,  and  tlie  dregs  of  society,  are  generally  the 
nmost  wicked  because  they  are  those  who  reason  the 
least.  The  religious  man  never  reflects,  and  avoids 
reasoning ;  he  fears  examination  ;  he  follows  au- 
thority ;  and  verj'  often  an  erroneous  conscience 
makes  him  consider  it  a  holy  duty  to  commit  evil. 
The  incredulous  man  reasons,  consults  experience, 
and  prefers  it  to  prejudice.  If  he  has  reasoned 
justly,  his  conscience  becomes  clear  ;  he  finds  more 
real  motives  for  right-doing  than  the  religious  man, 
who  has  no  motives  but  his  chimeras,  and  who  never 
listens  to  reason.  Are  not  the  motives  of  the  in- 
credulous man  strong  enough  to  counterbalance 
his  passions  ?  Is  he  blind  enough  not  to  recognize 
the  interests  which  should  restrain  him  ?  Well ! 
he  will  be  vicious  and  wicked  ;  but  even  then  he 
will  be  no  worse  and  no  better  than  many  credu- 
lous men  who,  notwithstanding  religion  and  its 
sublime  precepts,  continue  to  lead  a  life  which  this 
very  religion  condemns.  Is  a  credulous  murderer 
less  to  be  feared  than  a  murderer  who  does  not  be- 
lieve anything  ?  Is  a  religious  tyrant  any  less  a 
tyrant  than  an  irreligious  one  ? 

CLXXXI. — OPINIONS  RARELY  INFLUENCE  CONDUCT. 

There  is  nothing  more  rare  in  the  world  than 
consistent  men.  Their  opinions  do  not  influence 
their  conduct,  except  when  they  conform  to  their 
temperament,  their  passions,  and  to  their  inter- 
ests. Religious  opinions,  according  to  daily  expe- 
rience, produce  much  more  evil  than  good  ;  they  are 


Opinions  Rarely  Influence  Conduct.         247 

injurious,  because  they  very  often  agree  with  the 
passions  of  tyrants,  fanatics,  and  priests ;  they  pro- 
duce no  effect,  because  they  have  not  the  power  to 
balance  the  present  interests  of  the  majority  of 
men.  Religious  principles  are  always  put  aside 
when  they  are  opposed  to  ardent  desires ;  without 
being  incredulous,  they  act  as  if  they  believed 
nothing.  We  risk  being  deceived  when  we  judge 
the  opinions  of  men  by  their  conduct  or  their  con- 
duct by  their  opinions.  A  very  religious  man,  not- 
withstanding the  austere  and  cruel  principles  of  a 
bloody  religion,  will  sometimes  be,  by  a  fortunate 
inconsistency,  humane,  tolerant,  moderate ;  in  this 
case  the  principles  of  his  religion  do  not  agree  with 
the  mildness  of  his  disposition.  A  libertine,  a  de- 
bauchee, a  hypocrite,  an  adulterer,  or  a  thief  will 
often  show  us  that  he  has  the  clearest  ideas  of  mor- 
als. Why  do  they  not  practice  them  ?  It  is  be- 
cause neither  their  temperament,  their  interests, 
nor  their  habits  agree  with  their  sublime  theories. 
The  rigid  principles  of  Christian  morality,  which  so 
many  attempt  to  pass  off  as  Divine,  have  but  very 
little  influence  upon  the  conduct  of  those  who 
preach  them  to  others.  Do  they  not  tell  us  ever}^ 
day  to  do  what  they  preach,  and  not  what  they 
practice  ? 

The  religious  partisans  generally  designate  the 
incredulous  as  libertines.  It  may  be  that  many  in- 
credulous people  are  immoral ;  this  immorality  is 
due  to  their  temperament,  and  not  to  their  opin- 
ions. But  what  has  their  conduct  to  do  with  these 
opinions?     Can  not  an  immoral   man  be  a  good 


24S  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

physician,  a  good  architect,  a  good  geometer,  a 
good  logician,  a  good  metaphysician?  With  an 
irreproachable  conduct,  one  can  be  ignorant  upon 
many  things,  and  reason  very  badly.  When  truth 
is  presented,  it  matters  not  from  whom  it  comes. 
Let  us  not  judge  men  by  their  opinions,  or.  opin- 
ions by  men ;  let  us  judge  men  by  their  conduct ; 
and  their  opinions  by  their  conformity  with  expe- 
rience, reason,  and  their  usefulness  for  mankind. 

CLXXXII. — REASON  LEADS  MEN  TO  IRRELIGION 
AND  TO  ATHEISM,  BECAUSE  RELIGION  IS 
ABSURD,  AND  THE  GOD  OF  THE  PRIESTS  IS 
A   MALICIOUS   AND   FEROCIOUS   BEING. 

Every  man  who  reasons  soon  becomes  incredu- 
lous, because  reasoning  proves  to  him  that  theolo- 
gy is  but  a  tissue  of  falsehoods;    that  religion  is 
contrary  to  all  principles  of  common  sense  ;  that  it 
gives  a  false  color  to  all  human  knowledge.     The 
rational  man  becomes  incredulous,  because  he  sees 
that  religion,  far  from  rendering  men  happier,  is 
the  first  cause  of  the  greatest  disorders,  and  of  the 
permanent  calamities  with  which  the  human  race 
is  afflicted.    The  man  who  seeks  his  well-being  and 
his  own  tranquillity,  examines  his  religion  and  is  un- 
deceived, because  he  finds  it  inconvenient  and  use- 
less to  pass  his  life  in  trembling  at  phantoms  which 
are  made  but  to  intimidate  silly  women  or  children. 
If,  sometimes,  libertinage,  which  reasons  but  little, 
leads  to  irreligion,  the  man  who  is  regular  in  his 
morals  can  have  very  legitimate  motives  for  exam- 
ining his  religion,  and  for  banishing  it  from  his 


Fear  Alone  Creates   Theists  and  Bigots.     ^49 

mind.  Too  weak  to  intimidate  the  wicked,  in 
whom  vice  has  become  deeply  rooted,  religious 
terrors  afflict,  torment,  and  burden  imaginative 
minds.  If  souls  have  courage  and  elasticity,  they 
shake  off  a  j'oke  which  they  bear  unwillingly.  If 
weak  or  timorous,  they  wear  the  yoke  during  their 
whole  life,  and  they  grow  old,  trembling,  or  at  least 
they  live  under  burdensome  uncertainty. 

The  priests  have  made  of  God  such  a  malicious, 
ferocious  being,  so  ready  to  be  vexed,  that  there 
are  few  men  in  the  world  who  do  not  wish  at  the 
bottom  of  their  hearts  that  this  God  did  not  exist. 
We  can  not  live  happy  if  we  are  always  in  fear. 
You  worship  a  terrible  God,  O  religious  people ! 
Alas!  And  yet  you  hate  Him;  you  wish  that  He 
was  not.  Can  we  avoid  wishing  the  absence  or  the 
destruction  of  a  master,  the  idea  of  whom  can  but 
torment  the  mind  ?  It  is  the  dark  colors  in  which 
the  priests  paint  the  Deity  which  revolt  men,  mov 
ing  them  to  hate  and  reject  Him. 

CLXXXIII. — FEAR   ALONE   CREATES   THEISTS   AND 

BIGOTS. 

If  fear  has  created  the  Gods,  fear  still  holds  their 
empire  in  the  mind  of  mortals  ;  they  have  been  so 
early  accustomed  to  tremble  even  at  the  name  of 
the  Deity,  that  it  has  become  for  them  a  specter,  a 
goblin,  a  were-wolf  which  torments  them,  and  whose 
idea  deprives  them  even  of  the  courage  to  attempt 
to  reassure  themselves.  They  are  afraid  that  this 
invisible  specter  will  strike  tluin  if  they  cease  to 
be  afraid.     The  religious  people  fear  their  God  too 


250  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

much  to  love  Him  sincerely ;  they  serve  Him  as 

slaves,  who  can  not  escape  His  power,  and  take 
the  part  of  flattering  their  Master ;  and  who,  by 
continually  lying,  persuade  themselves  that  they 
love  Him.  They  make  a  virtue  of  necessity.  The 
love  of  religious  bigots  for  their  God,  and  of  slaves 
for  their  despots,  is  but  a  servile  and  simulated 
homage  which  they  render  by  compulsion,  in  which 
the  heart  has  no  part. 

CLXXXIV. — CAN  WE,  OR  SHOULD  WE,  LOVE  OR 
NOT  LOVE  GOD? 

The  Christian  Doctors  have  made  their  God  so 
little  worthy  of  love,  that  several  among  them  have 
thought  it  their  duty  not  to  love  Him  ;  this  is  a 
blasphemy  which  makes  less  sincere  doctors  trem- 
ble. Saint  Thomas,  having  asserted  that  we  are 
under  obligation  to  love  God  as  soon  as  we  can  use 
our  reason,  the  Jesuit  Sirmond  replied  to  him 
that  that  was  very  soon  ;  the  Jesuit  Vasquez  claims 
that  it  is  sufficient  to  love  God  in  the  hour  of 
death  ;  Hurtado  says  that  we  should  love  God  at 
all  times ;  Henriquez  is  content  with  loving  Him 
every  five  years  ;  Sotus,  every  Sunday.  "  Upon 
what  shall  we  rely?"  asks  Father  Sirmond,  who 
adds :  "  that  Suarez  desires  that  we  should  love 
God  sometimes.  But  at  what  time  ?  He  allows 
you  to  judge  of  it ;  he  knows  nothing  about  it  him- 
self; for  he  adds:  'What  a  learned  doctor  does 
not  know,  who  can  know?'"  The  same  Jesuit 
Sirmond  continues,  by  saying:  "that  God  does 
not  command  us  to  love  Him  with  human  affection. 


Contradictory  Ideas  of  God  and  Religion.     251 

and  does  not  promise  us  salvation  but  on  condition 
of  giving  Him  our  hearts  ;  it  is  enough  to  obey 
Him  and  to  love  Him,  by  fulfilling  His  command- 
ments ;  that  this  is  the  only  love  which  we  owe 
Him,  and  He  has  not  commanded  so  much  to  love 
Him  as  not  to  hate  Him."*  This  doctrine  ap- 
pears heretical,  ungodly,  and  abominable  to  the  Jan- 
senists,  who,  by  the  revolting  seventy  which  they 
attribute  to  their  God,  render  Him  still  less  lovable 
than  their  adversaries,  the  Jesuits.  The  latter,  in 
order  to  make  converts,  represent  God  in  such  a 
light  as  to  give  confidence  to  the  most  perverse 
mortals.  Thus,  nothing  is  less  established  among 
the  Christians  than  the  important  question,  wheth- 
er we  can  or  should  love  or  not  love  God.  Among 
their  spiritual  guides  some  pretend  that  we  must 
love  God  with  all  the  heart,  notwi  hstanding  all  His 
severity ;  others,  like  the  Father  Daniel,  think  that 
an  act  of  pure  love  of  God  is  the  most  heroic  act 
of  Christian  virtue,  and  that  human  weakness  can 
scarcely  reach  so  high.  The  Jesuit  Pintereau  goes 
still  further  ;  he  says  :  "  The  deliverance  from  the 
grievous  yoke  of  Divine  love  is  a  privilege  of  the 
new  alliance." 

CLXXXV. — THE  VARIOUS  AND  CONTRADICTORY 
IDEAS  WHICH  EXIST  EVERYWHERE  UPON  GOD 
AND  RELIGION,  PROVE  THAT  THEY  ARE  BUT 
IDLE   FANCIES. 

It  is  always  the  character  of  man  which  decides 


♦  See  "  Apology,  Des  Lettres  Provinciales,"  Tome  II. 


252  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier, 

upon  the  character  of  his  God  ;  each  one  creates  a 
God  for  himself,  and  in  his  own  image.    The  cheer- 
ful man  who  indulges  in  pleasures  and  dissipation, 
can  not  imagine  God  to  be  an  austere  and  rebuke- 
ful  being  ;  he  requires  a  facile  God  with  whom  he 
can  make  an  agreement.     The  severe,  sour,  bilious 
man  wants  a  God  like  himself;  one  who  inspires 
fear  ;  and  regards  as  perverse  those  that  accept  only 
a  God  who  is  yielding  and  easily  won  over.     Here- 
sies, quarrels,  and  schisms  are  necessary.     Can  men 
differently  organized  and  modified  by  diverse  cir- 
cumstances, agree  in  regard  to  an  imaginary  being 
which  exists  but  in  their  own  brains  ?     The  cruel 
and  interminable  disputes  continually  arising  among 
the  ministers  of  the  Lord,  have  not  a  tendency  to 
attract  the  confidence  of  those  who  take  an  impar- 
tial view  of  them.     How  can  we  help  our  incredu- 
lity, when  we  see  principles  about  which  those  who 
teach  them  to  others,  never  agree  ?     How  can  we 
avoid  doubting  the  existence  of  a  God,  the  idea  of 
whom  varies  in  such  a  remarkable  way  in  the  mind 
of  His  ministers  ?      How  can  we  avoid   rejecting 
totally  a  God  who  is  full  of  contradictions  ?     How 
can  we  rely  upon  priests  whom  we  see  continually 
contending,  accusing  each  other  of  being  infidels 
and  heretics,  rending  and  persecuting  each  other 
without  mercy,  about  the  way  in  which  they  under- 
stand the  pretended  truths  which  they  reveal  to 
the  world  ? 


Priests  Act  froyn  Self-interest.  253 

CLXXXVI. — THE  EXISTENCE  OF  GOD,  WHICH  IS 
THE  BASIS  OF  ALL  RELIGION,  HAS  NOT  YET 
BEEN   DEMONSTRATED. 

However,  so  far,  this  important  truth  has  not 
yet  been  demonstrated,  not  only  to  the  incredu- 
lous, but  in  a  satisfactory  way  to  theologians  them- 
selves. In  all  times,  we  have  seen  profound  think- 
ers who  thought  they  had  new  proofs  of  the  truth 
most  important  to  men.  What  have  been  the  fruits 
of  their  meditations  and  of  their  arguments  ?  They 
left  the  thing  at  the  same  point  ;  they  have  dem- 
onstrated nothing ;  nearly  always  they  have  ex- 
cited the  clamors  of  their  colleagues,  who  accuse 
them  of  having  badly  defended  the  best  of  causes. 

CLXXXVII. — PRIESTS,    MORE   THAN    UNBELIEVERS, 
ACT  FROM   INTEREST. 

The  apologists  of  religion  repeat  to  us  every  day 
that  the  passions  alone  create  unbelievers.  "  It 
is,"  they  say,  "  pride,  and  a  desire  to  distinguish 
themselves,  that  make  atheists  ;  they  seek  also  to 
efface  the  idea  of  God  from  their  minds,  because 
they  have  reason  to  fear  His  rigorous  judgments." 
Whatever  may  be  the  motives  which  cause  men  to 
be  irreligious,  the  thing  in  question  is  whether  they 
have  found  truth.  No  man  acts  without  motives  ; 
let  us  first  examine  the  arguments — we  shall  exam- 
ine the  motives  afterward — and  we  shall  find  that 
they  are  more  legitimate  and  more  sensible,  than 
those  of  many  credulous  devotees  who  allow  them- 
selves to  be  guided  by  masters  little  worthy  of  men's 
confidence. 


254  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

You  say,  O  priests  of  the  Lord !  that  the  passions 
cause  unbelievers  ;  you  pretend  that  they  renounce 
religion  through  interest,  or  because  it  interferes 
with  their  irregular  inclinations ;  you  assert  that 
they  attack  your  Gods  because  they  fear  their  pun- 
ishments. Ah  !  yourselves  in  defending  this  religion 
and  its  chimeras,  are  you,  then,  really  exempt  from 
passions  and  interests?  Who  receive  the  fees  of  this 
religion,  on  whose  behalf  the  priests  are  so  zealous? 
It  is  the  priests.  To  whom  does  religion  procure 
power,  credit,  honors,  wealth  ?  To  the  priests  !  In 
all  countries,  who  make  war  upon  reason,  science, 
truth,  and  philosophy  and  render  them  odious  to 
the  sovereigns  and  to  the  people  ?  Who  profit  by 
the  ignorance  of  men  and  their  vain  prejudices? 
The  priests !  You  are,  O  priests,  rewarded,  hon- 
ored, and  paid  for  deceiving  mortals,  and  you  pun- 
ish those  who  undeceive  them.  The  follies  of  men 
procure  you  blessings,  offerings,  expiations ;  the 
most  useful  truths  bring  to  those  who  announce 
them,  chains,  sufferings,  stakes.  Let  the  world 
judge  between  us. 

CLXXXVIII. — PRIDE,  PRESUMPTION,  AND  CORRUP- 
TION OF  THE  HEART  ARE  MORE  OFTEN 
FOUND  AMONG  PRIESTS  THAN  AMONG  ATHE- 
ISTS  AND   UNBELIEVERS. 

Pride  and  vanity  always  were  and  always  will  be 
the  inherent  vices  of  the  priesthood.  Is  there  any- 
thing that  has  a  tendency  to  render  men  haughty 
and  vain  more  than  the  assumption  of  exercising 
Heavenly  power,  of  possessing  a  sacred  character, 


The  Inherent   Vices  of  the  Priesthood.      255 

of  being  the  messengers  of  the  Most  High?  Are 
not  these  dispositions  continually  increased  by  the 
credulity  of  the  people,  by  the  deference  and  the 
respect  of  the  sovereigns,  by  the  immunities,  the 
privileges,  and  the  distinctions  which  the  clergy 
enjoy  ?  The  common  man  is,  in  every  country, 
more  devoted  to  his  spiritual  guides,  whom  he  con- 
siders as  Divine  men,  than  to  his  temporal  superi- 
ors, whom  he  considers  as  ordinary  men.  Village 
priests  enjoy  more  honor  than  the  lord  or  the 
judge.  A  Christian  priest  believes  himself  far 
above  a  king  or  an  emperor.  A  Spanish  grandee 
having  spoken  hastily  to  a  monk,  the  latter  said  to 
him,  arrogantly,  "  Learn  to  respect  a  man  who  has 
every  day  your  God  in  his  hands  and  your  queen 
at  his  feet." 

Have  the  priests  any  right  to  accuse  the  unbe- 
lievers of  pride  ?  Do  they  distinguish  themselves 
by  a  rare  modesty  or  profound  humility?  Is  it  not 
evident  that  the  desire  to  domineer  over  men  is  the 
essence  of  their  profession  ?  If  the  Lord's  minis- 
ters were  truly  modest,  would  we  see  them  so 
greedy  of  respect,  so  easily  irritated  by  contradic- 
tions, so  prompt  and  so  cruel  in  revenging  them- 
selves upon  those  whose  opinions  offend  them  ? 
Does  not  modest  science  impress  us  with  the  diffi- 
culty of  unraveling  truth  ?  What  other  passion  than 
frenzied  pride  can  render  men  so  ferocious,  so  vin- 
dictive, so  devoid  of  toleration  and  gentleness? 
What  is  more  presumptuous  than  to  arm  nations 
and  cause  rivers  of  blood,  in  order  to  establish  or 
to  defend  futile  conjectures? 


256  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

You  say,  O  Doctors  of  Divinity !  that  it  is  pre- 
sumption alone  which  makes  atheists.  Teach  them, 
then,  what  your  God  is ;  instruct  them  about  His 
essence;  speak  of  Him  in  an  intelligible  way ;  tell 
of  Him  reasonable  things,  which  are  not  contradic- 
tory or  impossible !  If  you  are  not  in  the  condi- 
tion to  satisfy  them  ;  if,  so  far,  none  of  you  have 
been  able  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of  a  God  in 
a  clear  and  convincing  way;  if,  according  to  your 
own  confession.  His  essence  is  as  much  hidden  from 
you  as  from  the  rest  of  mortals,  pardon  those  who 
can  not  admit  that  which  they  can  neither  under- 
stand nor  reconcile.  Do  not  accuse  of  presumption 
and  vanity  those  who  have  the  sincerity  to  confess 
their  ignorance ;  accuse  not  of  folly  those  who  find 
it  impossible  to  believe  in  contradictions.  You 
should  blush  at  the  thought  of  exciting  the  hatred 
of  the  people  and  the  vengeance  of  the  sovereigns 
against  men  who  do  not  think  as  you  do  upon  a 
Being  of  whom  you  have  no  idea  yourselves.  Is 
there  anything  more  audacious  and  more  extrava- 
gant than  to  reason  about  an  object  which  it  is  im- 
possible to  conceive  of? 

You  tell  us  it  is  corruption  of  the  heart  which 
produces  atheists;  that  they  shake  off  the  yoke  of 
the  Deity  because  they  fear  His  terrible  judgments. 
But  why  do  you  paint  your  God  in  such  black  col- 
ors? Why  does  this  powerful  God  permit  that 
such  corrupt  hearts  should  exist  ?  Why  should  we 
not  make  efforts  to  break  the  yoke  of  a  Tyrant 
who,  being  able  to  make  of  the  hearts  of  men  what 
He  pleases,  allows  them  to  become  perverted  and 


Prejudices  arc  hut  for  a  Time.  257 

hardened :  blinds  them  ;  refuses  them  His  grace, 
in  order  to  have  the  satisfaction  of  punishing  them 
eternally  for  having  been  hardened,  blinded,  and 
not  having  received  the  grace  which  He  refused 
them  ?  The  theologians  and  the  p.iests  must  feel 
themselves  very  sure  of  Heaven's  grace  and  of  a 
happy  future,  in  order  not  to  detest  a  Master  so 
capricious  as  the  God  whom  they  announce  to  us. 
A  God  who  damns  eternally  must  be  the  most  odi- 
ous Being  that  the  human  mind  could  imagine. 

CLXXXIX. — PREJUDICES  ARE  BUT  FOR  A  TIME, 
AND  NO  POWER  IS  DURABLE  EXCEPT  IT  IS 
BASED    UPON   TRUTH,  REASON,  AND    EQUITY. 

No  man  on  earth  is  truly  interested  in  sustaining 
error;  sooner  or  later  it  is  compelled  to  surrender 
to  truth.  General  interest  tends  to  the  enlighten- 
ment of  mortals  ;  even  the  passions  sometimes  con- 
tribute to  the  breaking  of  some  of  the  chains  of 
prejudice.  Have  not  the  passions  of  some  sover- 
eigns destroyed,  within  the  past  two  centuries  in 
some  countries  of  Europe,  the  tyrannical  power 
which  a  haughty  Pontiff  formerly  exercised  over  all 
the  princes  of  his  sect  ?  Politics,  becoming  more 
enlightened,  has  despoiled  the  clergy  of  an  im- 
mense amount  of  property  which  credulity  had 
accumulated  in  their  hands.  Should  not  this  mem- 
orable example  make  even  the  priests  realize  that 
prejudices  are  but  for  a  time,  and  that  truth  alone 
is  capable  of  assuring  a  substantial  well-being? 

Have  not  the  ministers  of  the  Lord  seen  that  in 
pampering  the  sovereigns,  in  forging  Divine  rights 


258  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Me  slier. 

for  them,  and  in  delivering  to  them  the  people, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  they  were  making  tyrants  of 
them  ?  Have  they  not  reason  to  fear  that  these 
gigantic  idols,  whom  they  have  raised  to  the  skies, 
will  crush  them  also  some  day?  Do  not  a  thou- 
sand examples  prove  that  they  ought  to  fear  that 
these  unchained  lions,  after  having  devoured  na- 
tions, will  in  turn  devour  them  ? 

We  will  respect  the  priests  when  they  become 
citizens.  Let  them  make  use,  if  they  can,  of 
Heaven's  authority  to  create  fear  in  those  princes 
who  incessantly  desolate  the  earth  ;  let  them  de- 
prive them  of  the  right  of  being  unjust  ;  let  them 
recognize  that  no  subject  of  a  State  enjoys  living 
under  tyranny  ;  let  them  make  the  sovereigns  feel 
that  they  themselves  are  not  interested  in  exercis- 
ing a  power  which,  rendering  them  odious,  injures 
their  own  safety,  their  own  power,  their  own  grand- 
eur ;  finally,  let  the  priests  and  the  undeceived 
kings  recognize  that  no  power  is  safe  that  is  not 
based  upon  truth,  reason,  and  equity. 

CXC. — HOW  MUCH  POWER  AND  CONSIDERATION 
THE  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GODS  WOULD  HAVE, 
IF  THEY  BECAME  THE  APOSTLES  OF  REASON 
AND   THE   DEFENDERS   OF   LIBERTY ! 

The  ministers  of  the  Gods,  in  warring  against 
human  reason,  which  they  ought  to  develop,  act 
against  their  own  interest.  What  would  be  their 
power,  their  consideration,  their  empire  over  the 
wisest  men  ;  what  would  be  the  gratitude  of  the 
people  toward  them  if,  instead  of  occupying  them- 


Philosophy  a  Good  Substitute  for  Religion.    259 

selves  with  their  vain  quarrels,  they  had  applied 
themselves  to  the  useful  sciences ;  if  they  had 
sought  the  true  principles  of  physics,  of  govern- 
ment, and  of  morals.  Who  would  dare  reproach 
the  opulence  and  credit  of  a  corporation  which, 
consecrating  its  leisure  and  its  authority  to  the 
public  good,  should  use  the  one  for  studying  and 
meditating,  and  the  other  for  enlightening  equally 
the  minds  of  the  sovereigns  and  the  subjects  ? 

Priests  !  lay  aside  your  idle  fancies,  your  unintel- 
ligible dogmas,  your  despicable  quarrels ;  banish  to 
imaginary  regions  these  phantoms,  which  could  be 
of  use  to  you  only  in  the  infancy  of  nations  ;  take 
the  tone  of  reason,  instead  of  sounding  the  tocsin 
of  persecution  against  your  adversaries ;  instead  of 
entertaining  the  people  with  foolish  disputes,  of 
preaching  useless  and  fanatical  virtues,  preach  to 
them  humane  and  social  morality ;  preach  to  them 
virtues  which  are  really  useful  to  the  world  ;  be- 
come the  apostles  of  reason,  the  lights  of  the  na- 
tions, the  defenders  of  liberty,  reformers  of  abuses, 
the  friends  of  truth,  and  we  will  bless  you,  we  will 
honor  you,  we  will  love  you,  and  you  will  be  sure 
of  holding  an  eternal  empire  over  the  hearts  of 
your  fellow-beings. 

CXCI. — WHAT  A  HAPPY  AND  GREAT  REVOLUTION 
WOULD  TAKE  PLACE  IN  THE  UNIVERSE,  IF 
PHILOSOPHY  WAS  SUBSTITUTED  FOR  RELIG- 
ION ! 

Philosophers,  in  all  ages,  have  taken  the  part 
that  seemed  destined  for  the  ministers  of  religioa 


26o  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Mestier. 

The  hatred  of  the  latter  for  philosophy  was  nevet 
more  than  professional  jealousy.  All  men  accus- 
tomed to  think,  instead  of  seeking  to  injure  each 
other,  should  unite  their  efforts  in  combating  er- 
rors, in  seeking  truth,  and  especially  in  dispelling 
the  prejudices  from  which  the  sovereigns  and  sub- 
jects suffer  alike,  and  whose  upholders  themselves 
finish,  sooner  or  later,  by  becoming  the  victims. 

In  the  hands  of  an  enlightened  government  the 
priests  would  become  the  most  useful  of  citizens. 
Could  men  with  rich  stipends  from  the  State,  and 
relieved  of  the  care  of  providing  for  their  own  sub- 
sistence, do  anything  better  than  to  instruct  them- 
selves in  order  to  be  able  to  instruct  others  ?  Would 
not  their  minds  be  better  satisfied  in  discovering 
truth  than  in  wandering  in  the  labyrinths  of  dark- 
ness ?  Would  it  be  any  more  difficult  to  unravel 
the  principles  of  man's  morals,  than  the  imaginary' 
principles  of  Divine  and  theological  morals  ?  Would 
ordinary  men  have  as  much  trouble  in  understand- 
ing the  simple  notions  of  their  duties,  as  in  charg- 
ing their  memories  with  mysteries,  unintelligible 
words,  and  obscure  definitions  which  are  impossi- 
ble for  them  to  understand  ?  How  much  time  and 
trouble  is  lost  in  trying  to  teach  men  things  which 
are  of  no  use  to  them.  What  resources  for  the 
public  benefit,  for  encouraging  the  progress  of  the 
sciences  and  the  advancement  of  knowledge,  for 
the  education  of  youth,  are  presented  to  well- 
meaning  sovereigns  through  so  many  monasteries, 
which,  in  a  great  number  of  countries  devour  the 
people's   substance  without   an    equivalent.      But 


Retraction  at  Death  Proves  Nothing.         261 

superstition,  jealous  of  its  exclusive  empire,  seems 
to  have  formed  but  useless  beings.  What  advan- 
tage could  not  be  drawn  from  a  multitude  of  ceno- 
bites  of  both  sexes  whom  we  see  in  so  many  coun- 
tries, and  who  are  so  well  paid  to  do  nothing.  In- 
stead of  occupying  them  with  sterile  contempla- 
tions, with  mechanical  prayers,  with  monotonous 
practices ;  instead  of  burdening  them  with  fasts 
and  austerities,  let  there  be  excited  among  them  a 
salutary  emulation  that  would  inspire  them  to  seek 
the  means  of  serving  usefully  the  world,  which  their 
fatal  vows  oblige  them  to  renounce.  Instead  of 
filling  the  youthful  minds  of  their  pupils  with  fa- 
bles, dogmas,  and  puerilities,  why  not  invite  or 
oblige  the  priests  to  teach  them  true  things,  and  so 
make  of  them  citizens  useful  to  their  country  ? 
The  way  in  which  men  are  brought  up  makes  them 
useful  but  to  the  clergy,  who  blind  them,  and  to  the 
tyrants,  who  plunder  them. 

CXCII.— THE  RETRACTION  OF  AN  UNBELIEVER  AT 
THE  HOUR  OF  DEATH,  PROVES  NOTHING 
AGAINST   INCREDULITY. 

The  adherents  of  credulity  often  accuse  the 
unbelievers  of  bad  faith  because  they  sometimes 
waver  in  their  principles,  changing  opinions  during 
sickness,  and  retracting  them  at  the  hour  of  death. 
When  the  body  is  diseased,  the  faculty  of  reason- 
ing is  generally  disturbed  also.  The  infirm  and 
decrepit  man,  in  approaching  his  end,  sometimes 
perceives  himself  that  reason  is  leaving  him,  he 
feels  that  prejudice   returns.     There   are  diseases 


262  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

which  have  a  tendency  to  lessen  courage,  to  make 
pusillanimous,  and  to  enfeeble  the  brain  ;  there  are 
others  which,  in  destroying  the  body,  do  not  affect 
the  reason.  However,  an  unbeliever  who  retracts 
in  sickness,  is  not  more  rare  or  more  extraordinary 
than  a  devotionist  who  permits  himself,  while  in 
health,  to  neglect  the  duties  that  his  religion  pre- 
scribes for  him  in  the  most  formal  manner. 

Cleomenes,  King  of  Sparta,  having  shown  little 
respect  for  the  Gods  during  his  reign,  became  su- 
perstitious in  his  last  days  ;  with  the  view  of  inter- 
esting Heaven  in  his  favor,  he  called  around  him  a 
multitude  of  sacrificing  priests.  One  of  his  friends 
expressing  his  surprise,  Cleomenes  said  : 

"  What  are  you  astonished  at  ?  I  am  no  longer 
what  I  was,  and  not  being  the  same,  I  can  not 
think  in  the  same  way." 

The  ministers  of  religion  in  their  daily  conduct, 
often  belie  the  rigorous  principles  which  they  teach 
to  others,  so  that  the  unbelievers  in  their  turn  think 
they  have  a  right  to  accuse  them  of  bad  faith.  If 
some  unbelievers  contradict,  in  sight  of  death  or  dur- 
ing sickness,  the  opinions  which  they  entertained  in 
health,  do  not  the  priests  in  health  belie  opinions 
of  the  religion  which  they  hold  ?  Do  we  see  a  great 
multitude  of  humble,  generous  prelates  devoid  of 
ambition,  enemies  of  pomp  and  grandeur,  the 
friends  of  poverty?  In  short,  do  we  see  the  con- 
duct of  many  Christian  priests  corresponding  with 
the  austere  morality  of  Christ,  their  God  and  theii 
model  ? 


Religion  not  Necessary  for  the  Masses.       263 

CXCIII. — IT  IS  NOT  TRUE  THAT  ATHEISM  SUNDERS 
ALL   THE   TIES   OF   SOCIETY. 

Atheism,  we  are  told,  breaks  all  social  ties. 
Without  belief  in  God,  what  becomes  of  the  sa- 
credness  of  the  oath?  How  can  we  bind  an  athe- 
ist who  can  not  seriously  attest  the  Deity  ?  But 
does  the  oath  place  us  under  stronger  obligations 
to  the  engagements  which  we  make  ?  Whoever 
dares  to  lie,  will  he  not  dare  to  perjure  himself? 
He  who  is  base  enough  to  violate  his  word,  or  un- 
just enough  to  break  his  promises  in  contempt  of 
the  esteem  of  men,  will  not  be  more  faithful  for 
having  taken  all  the  Gods  as  witnesses  to  his  oaths. 
Those  who  rank  themselves  above  the  judgments 
of  men,  will  soon  put  themselves  above  the  judg- 
ments of  God.  Are  not  princes,  of  all  mortals,  the 
most  prompt  in  taking  oaths,  and  the  most  prompt 
in  violating  them? 

CXCIV. — REFUTATION    OF    THE    ASSERTION    THAT 
RELIGION   IS   NECESSARY   FOR   THE   MASSES. 

Religion,  they  tell  us,  is  necessary  for  the  masses  ; 
that  though  enlightened  persons  may  not  need  re- 
straint upon  their  opinions,  it  is  necessary  at  least 
for  the  common  people,  in  whom  education  has  not 
developed  reason.  Is  it  true,  then,  that  religion  is 
a  restraint  for  the  people  ?  Do  we  see  that  this  re- 
ligion prevents  them  from  intemperance,  drunken- 
ness, brutality,  violence,  frauds,  and  all  kinds  of 
excesses?  Could  a  people  who  had  no  idea  of  the 
Deity,  conduct  itself  in  a  more  detestable  manner 


264  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

than  many  believing  people  in  whom  we  see  dis- 
solute habits,  and  the  vices  most  unworthy  of  ra 
tional  beings  ?  Do  we  not  see  the  artisan  or  the 
man  of  the  people  go  from  his  church  and  plunge 
headlong  into  his  usual  excesses,  persuading  him- 
self all  the  while  that  his  periodical  homage  to 
God  gives  him  the  right  to  follow  without  remorse 
his  vicious  practices  and  habitual  inclinations?  If 
the  people  are  gross  and  ignorant,  is  not  their  stu- 
pidity due  to  the  negligence  of  the  princes  who  do 
not  attend  to  the  public  education,  or  who  oppose 
the  instruction  of  their  subjects?  Finally,  is  not 
the  irrationality  of  the  people  plainly  the  work  of 
the  priests,  who,  instead  of  interesting  them  in  a 
rational  morality,  do  nothing  but  entertain  them 
with  fables,  phantoms,  intrigues,  observances,  idle 
fancies,  and  false  virtues,  upon  which  they  claim 
that  everything  depends? 

Religion  is,  for  the  people,  but  a  vain  attendance 
upon  ceremonies,  to  which  they  cling  from  habit, 
which  amuses  their  eyes,  which  enlivens  tempora- 
rily their  sleepy  minds,  without  influencing  the 
conduct,  and  without  correcting  their  morals.  By 
the  confession  even  of  the  ministers  at  the  altars, 
nothing  is  more  rare  than  the  interior  and  spiritual 
religion,  which  is  alone  capable  of  regulating  the 
life  of  man,  and  of  triumphing  over  his  inclinations. 
In  good  faith,  among  the  most  numerous  and  the 
most  devotional  people,  are  there  many  capable 
of  understanding  the  principles  of  their  religious 
system,  and  who  find  them  of  sufficient  strength  to 
stifle  their  perverse  inclinations? 


The  Multitude  do  not  Reason.  265 

Many  people  will  tell  us  that  it  is  better  to  have 
some  kind  of  a  restraint  than  none  at  all.  They 
will  pretend  that  if  religion  does  not  control  the 
great  mass,  it  serves  at  least  to  restrain  some  indi- 
viduals, who,  without  it,  would  abandon  themselves 
to  crime  without  remorse.  No  doubt  it  is  necessa- 
ry for  men  to  have  a  restraint ;  but  they  do  not 
need  an  imaginary  one ;  they  need  true  and  visible 
restraints ;  they  need  real  fears,  which  are  much 
better  to  restrain  them  than  panic  terrors  and  idle 
fancies.  Religion  frightens  but  a  few  pusillani- 
mous minds,  whose  weakness  of  character  already 
renders  them  little  to  be  dreaded  by  their  fellow- 
citizens.  An  equitable  government,  severe  laws,  a 
sound  morality,  will  apply  equally  to  everybody  ; 
every  one  would  be  forced  to  believe  in  it,  and 
would  feel  the  danger  of  not  conforming  to  it. 

CXCV. — EVERY   RATIONAL   SYSTEM    IS   NOT   MADE 
FOR   THE    MULTITUDE. 

We  may  be  asked  if  atheism  can  suit  the  multi- 
tude ?  I  reply,  that  every  system  which  demands 
discussion  is  not  for  the  multitude.  What  use  is 
there,  then,  in  preaching  atheism  ?  It  can  at  least 
make  those  who  reason,  feel  that  nothing  is  more 
extravagant  than  to  make  ourselves  uneasy,  and 
nothing  more  unjust  than  to  cause  anxiety  to  oth- 
ers on  account  of  conjectures,  destitute  of  all  foun- 
dation. As  to  the  common  man,  who  never  reasons, 
the  arguments  of  an  atheist  are  no  better  suited  to 
him  than  a  philosopher's  hypothesis,  an  astrono- 
mers observations,  a  chemist's  experiments,  a  ge- 


266  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

ometer's  calculations,  a  physician's  examinations, 
an  architect's  designs,  or  a  lawyer's  pleadings,  who 
all  labor  for  the  people  without  their  knowledge. 

The  metaphysical  arguments  of  theology,  and 
the  religious  disputes  which  have  occupied  for  so 
long  many  profound  visionists,  are  they  made  any 
more  for  the  common  man  than  the  arguments  of 
an  atheist  ?  More  than  this,  the  principles  of  athe- 
ism, founded  upon  common  sense,  are  they  not 
more  intelligible  than  those  of  a  theology  which 
we  see  bristling  with  insolvable  difficulties,  even 
for  the  most  active  minds  ?  The  people  in  every 
country  have  a  religion  which  they  do  not  under- 
stand, which  they  do  not  examine,  and  which  they 
follow  but  by  routine ;  their  priests  alone  occupy 
themselves  with  the  theology  which  is  too  sublime 
for  them.  If,  by  accident,  the  people  should  lose 
this  unknown  theology,  they  could  console  them 
selves  for  the  loss  of  a  thing  which  is  not  only  en- 
tirely useless,  but  which  produces  among  them  very 
dangerous  ebullitions. 

It  would  be  very  foolish  to  write  for  the  common 
man  or  to  attempt  to  cure  his  prejudices  all  at  once. 
We  write  but  for  those  who  read  and  reason ;  the 
people  read  but  little,  and  reason  less.  Sensible 
and  peaceable  people  enlighten  themselves ;  their 
light  spreads  itself  gradually,  and  in  time  reaches 
the  people.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  deceive 
men,  do  they  not  often  take  the  trouble  themselves 
of  undeceiving  them  ? 


Futility  and  Danger  of  Theology.  267 

CXCVI. — FUTILITY  AND   DANGER   OF   THEOLOGY. 
WISE   COUNSELS  TO   PRINCES. 

If  theology  is  a  branch  of  commerce  useful  to 
theologians,  it  has  been  demonstrated  to  be  super- 
fluous and  injurious  to  the  rest  of  society.  The 
interests  of  men  will  succeed  in  opening  their  eyes 
sooner  or  later.  The  sovereigns  and  the  people 
will  some  day  discover  the  indifference  and  the 
contempt  that  a  futile  science  deserves  which  serves 
but  to  trouble  men  without  making  them  better. 
They  will  feel  the  uselessness  of  many  expensive 
practices,  which  do  not  at  all  contribute  to  public 
welfare  ;  they  will  blush  at  many  pitiful  quarrels, 
which  will  cease  to  disturb  the  tranquillity  of  the 
States  as  soon  as  they  cease  to  attach  any  impor- 
tance to  them. 

Princes  !  instead  of  taking  part  in  the  senseless 
contentions  of  your  priests,  instead  of  espousing 
foolishly  their  impertinent  quarrels,  instead  of 
striving  to  bring  all  your  subjects  to  uniform  opin- 
ions, occupy  yourselves  with  their  happiness  in  this 
world,  and  do  not  trouble  yourselves  about  the 
fate  which  awaits  them  in  another.  Govern  them 
justly,  give  them  good  laws,  respect  their  liberty 
and  their  property,  superintend  their  education, 
encourage  them  in  their  labors,  reward  their  tal- 
ents and  their  virtues,  repress  their  licentiousness, 
and  do  not  trouble  yourselves  upon  what  they  think 
about  objects  useless  to  them  and  to  you.  Then 
you  will  no  longer  need  fictions  to  make  yourselves 
obeyed  ;  you  will  become  the  only  guides  of  your 


268  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

subjects ;  their  ideas  will  be  uniform  about  the  feel- 
ings of  love  and  respect  which  will  be  your  due. 
Theological  fables  are  useful  but  to  tyrants,  who 
do  not  understand  the  art  of  ruling  over  reasonable 
beings. 

CXCVII. — FATAL  EFFECTS  OF  RELIGION  UPON   THE 
PEOPLE  AND   THE   PRINCES. 

Does  it  require  the  efforts  of  genius  to  compre- 
hend that  what  is  beyond  man,  is  not  made  for  men  ; 
that  what  is  supernatural,  is  not  made  for  natural 
beings ;  that  impenetrable  mysteries  are  not  made 
for  limited  minds  ?  If  theologians  are  foolish 
enough  to  dispute  about  subjects  which  they  ac- 
knowledge to  be  unintelligible  to  themselves,  should 
society  take  a  part  in  their  foolish  quarrels  ?  Must 
human  blood  flow  in  order  to  give  value  to  the 
conjectures  of  a  few  obstinate  visionists  ?  If  it  is 
very  difficult  to  cure  the  theologians  of  their  mania 
and  the  people  of  their  prejudices,  it  is  at  least 
very  easy  to  prevent  the  extravagances  of  the  one 
and  the  folly  of  the  other  from  producing  perni- 
cious effects.  Let  each  one  be  allowed  to  think  as 
he  chooses,  but  let  him  not  be  allowed  to  annoy 
others  for  their  mode  of  thinking.  If  the  chiefs  of 
nations  were  more  just  and  more  sensible,  theolog- 
ical opinions  would  not  disturb  the  public  tranquil- 
lity any  more  than  the  disputes  of  philosophers, 
physicians,  grammarians,  and  of  critics.  It  is  the 
tyranny  of  princes  which  makes  theological  quar- 
rels have  serious  consequences.     When  kings  shall 


Fatal  Effects  of  Religion.  269 

cease  to  meddle  with  theology,  theological  quarrels 
will  no  longer  be  a  thing  to  fear. 

Those  who  boast  so  much  upon  the  importance 
and  usefulness  of  religion,  ought  to  show  us  its 
beneficial  results,  and  the  advantages  that  the  dis- 
putes and  abstract  speculations  of  theology  can 
bring  to  porters,  to  artisans,  to  farmers,  to  fish- 
mongers, to  women,  and  to  so  many  depraved  serv- 
ants, with  whom  the  large  cities  are  filled.  People 
of  this  kind  are  all  religious,  they  have  implicit 
faith  ;  their  priests  believe  for  them  ;  they  accept 
a  faith  unknown  to  their  guides;  they  listen  assidu- 
ously to  sermons  ;  they  assist  regularly  in  ceremo- 
nies ;  they  think  it  a  great  crime  to  transgress  the 
ordinances  to  which  from  childhood  they  have  been 
taught  to  conform.  What  good  to  morality  results 
from  all  this  ?  None  whatever  ;  they  have  no  idea 
of  morality,  and  you  see  them  indulge  in  all  kinds 
of  rogueries,  frauds,  rapine,  and  excesses  which  the 
law  does  not  punish.  The  masses,  in  truth,  have 
no  idea  of  religion  ;  what  is  called  religion,  is  but  a 
blind  attachment  to  unknown  opinions  and  myste- 
rious dealings.  In  fact,  to  deprive  the  people  of  re- 
ligion, is  depriving  them  of  nothing.  If  we  should 
succeed  in  destroying  their  prejudices,  we  would 
but  diminish  or  annihilate  the  dangerous  confi- 
dence which  they  have  in  self-interested  guides, 
and  teach  them  to  beware  of  those  who,  under  the 
pretext  of  religion,  very  often  lead  them  into  faial 
excesses. 


270  Common  Sense,  by  jfean  Meslier. 

CXCVIII. — CONTINUATION. 

Under  pretext  of  instructing  and  enlightening 
men,  religion  really  holds  them  in  ignorance,  and 
deprives  them  even  of  the  desire  of  understanding 
the  objects  which  interest  them  the  most.  There 
exists  for  the  people  no  other  rule  of  conduct  than 
that  which  their  priests  indicate  to  them.  Religion 
takes  the  place  of  everything ;  but  being  in  dark- 
ness itself,  it  has  a  greater  tendency  to  misguide 
mortals,  than  to  guide  them  in  the  way  of  science 
and  happiness.  Philosophy,  morality,  legislation, 
and  politics  are  to  them  enigmas.  Man,  blinded 
by  religious  prejudices,  finds  it  impossible  to  under- 
stand his  own  nature,  to  cultivate  his  reason,  to 
make  experiments ;  he  fears  truth  as  soon  as  it 
does  not  agree  with  his  opinions.  Everything 
tends  to  render  the  people  devout,  but  all  is  op- 
posed to  their  being  humane,  reasonable,  and  vir- 
tuous. Religion  seems  to  have  for  its  object  only 
to  blunt  the  feeling  and  to  dull  the  intelligence  of 
men. 

The  war  which  always  existed  between  the  priests 
and  the  best  minds  of  all  ages,  comes  from  this, 
that  the  wise  men  perceived  the  fetters  which  su- 
perstition wished  to  place  upon  the  human  mind, 
which  it  fain  would  keep  in  eternal  infancy,  that  it 
might  be  occupied  with  fables,  burdened  with  ter- 
rors, and  frightened  by  phantoms  which  would  pre- 
vent it  from  progressing.  Incapable  of  perfecting 
itself,  theology  opposed  insurmountable  barriers  to 
the  progress  of  true  knowledge  ;  it  seemed  to  be 


Religion  Founded  upon  Ignorance.  271 

occupied  but  with  the  care  to  keep  the  nations 
and  their  chiefs  in  the  most  profound  ignorance  of 
their  true  interests,  of  their  relations,  of  their  duties, 
of  the  real  motives  which  can  lead  them  to  pros- 
perity ;  it  does  but  obscure  morality  ;  renders  its 
principles  arbitrary,  subjects  it  to  the  caprices  of 
the  Gods,  or  of  their  ministers  ;  it  converts  the  art 
of  governing  men  into  a  mysterious  tyranny  which 
becomes  the  scourge  of  nations  ;  it  changes  the 
princes  into  unjust  and  licentious  despots,  and  the 
people  into  ignorant  slaves,  who  corrupt  themselves 
in  order  to  obtain  the  favor  of  their  masters. 

CXCIX. — HISTORY  TEACHES  US  THAT  ALL  RELIG- 
IONS WERE  ESTABLISHED  BY  THE  AID  OF 
IGNORANCE,  AND  BY  MEN  WHO  HAD  THE 
EFFRONTERY  TO  STYLE  THEMSELVES  THE 
ENVOYS   OF   DIVINITY. 

If  we  take  the  trouble  to  follow  the  history  of 
the  human  mind,  we  will  discover  that  theology 
took  care  not  to  extend  its  limits.  It  began  by 
repeating  fables,  which  it  claimed  to  be  sacred 
truths ;  it  gave  birth  to  poesy,  which  filled  the 
people's  imagination  with  puerile  fictions  ;  it  en- 
tertained them  but  with  its  Gods  and  their  incredi- 
ble feats  ;  in  a  word,  religion  always  treated  men 
like  children,  whom  they  put  to  sleep  with  tales 
that  their  ministers  would  like  still  to  pass  as  in- 
contestable truths.  If  the  ministers  of  the  Gods 
sometimes  made  useful  discoveries,  they  always 
took  care  to  hide  them  in  enigmas  and  to  envelope 
them  in  shadows  of  mysterj'.     The  Pythagorases 


272  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier 

and  the  Platos,  in  order  to  acquire  some  futile  at 
tainments,  were  obliged  to  crawl  to  the  feet  of  the 
priests,  to  become  initiated  into  their  mysteries,  to 
submit  to  the  tests  which  they  desired  to  impose 
upon  them  ;  it  is  at  this  cost  that  they  were  per- 
mitted to  draw  from  the  fountain-head  their  ex- 
alted ideas,  so  seducing  still  to  all  those  who  ad- 
mire what  is  unintelligible.  It  was  among  Egyp- 
tian, Indian,  Chaldean  priests  ;  it  was  in  the  schools 
of  these  dreamers,  interested  by  profession  in  de- 
throning human  reason,  that  philosophy  was  obliged 
to  borrow  its  first  rudiments.  Obscure  or  false  in 
its  principles,  mingled  with  fictions  and  fables, 
solely  made  to  seduce  imagination,  this  philosophy 
progressed  but  waveringly,  and  instead  of  enlight- 
ening the  mind,  it  blinded  it,  and  turned  it  away 
from  useful  objects.  The  theological  speculations 
and  mystical  reveries  of  the  ancients  have,  even  in 
our  days,  the  making  of  the  law  in  a  great  part  of 
the  philosophical  world.  Adopted  by  modern  the- 
ology, we  can  scarcely  deviate  from  them  without 
heresy  ;  they  entertain  us  with  aerial  beings,  with 
spirits,  angels,  demons,  genii,  and  other  phantoms, 
which  are  the  object  of  the  meditations  of  our  most 
profound  thinkers,  and  which  serve  as  a  basis  to 
metaphysics,  an  abstract  and  futile  science,  upon 
which  the  greatest  geniuses  have  vainly  exercised 
themselves  for  thousands  of  years.  Thus  hypoth- 
eses, invented  by  a  few  visionists  of  Memphis  and 
of  Babylon,  continue  to  be  the  basis  of  a  science 
revered  for  the  obscurity  which  makes  it  pass  as 
marvelous  and  Divine.     The  first  legislators  of  n^ 


Modern  Religion  Borrozved  from  Ancient.    273 

tions  were  priests ;  the  first  mythologists  and  poets 
were  priests ;  the  first  philosophers  were  priests  ; 
the  first  physicians  were  priests.  In  their  hands 
science  became  a  sacred  thing,  prohibited  to  the 
profane  ;  they  spoke  only  by  allegories,  emblems, 
enigmas,  and  ambiguous  oracles — means  well-suited 
to  excite  curiosity,  to  put  to  work  the  imagination, 
and  especially  to  inspire  in  the  ignorant  man  a  holy 
respect  for  those  whom  he  believed  instructed  by 
Heaven,  capable  of  reading  the  destinies  of  earth, 
and  who  boldly  pretended  to  be  the  organs  of  Di- 
vinity. 

CC. — ALL  RELIGIONS,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN, 
HAVE  MUTUALLY  BORROWED  THEIR  AB- 
STRACT REVERIES  AND  THEIR  RIDICULOUS 
PRACTICES. 

The  religions  of  these  ancient  priests  have  dis- 
appeared, or,  rather,  they  have  changed  their  form. 
Although  our  modern  theologians  regard  the  an- 
cient priests  as  impostors,  they  have  taken  care  to 
gather  up  the  scattered  fragments  of  their  relig- 
ious systems,  the  whole  of  which  does  not  exist 
any  longer  for  us  ;  we  will  find  in  our  modern  re- 
ligions, not  only  the  metaphysical  dogmas  which 
theology  has  but  dressed  in  another  form,  but  we 
still  find  remarkable  remains  of  their  superstitious 
practices,  of  their  theurgy,  of  their  magic,  of  their 
enchantments.  Christians  are  still  commanded  to 
regard  with  respect  the  monuments  of  the  legisla- 
tors, the  priests,  and  the  prophets  of  the  Hebrew 
religion,  which,  according  to  appearances,  has  bor- 


274  Common  Soise,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

rowed  from  Egypt  the  fantastic  notions  with  which 
we  see  it  filled.  Thus  the  extravagances  invented 
by  frauds  or  idolatrous  visionists,  are  still  regarded 
as  sacred  opinions  by  the  Christians ! 

If  we  but  look  at  history,  we  see  striking  resem- 
blances in  all  religions.  Everywhere  on  earth  we 
find  religious  ideas  periodically  afflicting  and  rejoic- 
ing the  people  ;  everywhere  we  see  rites,  practices 
often  abominable,  and  formidable  mysteries  occu- 
pying the  mind,  and  becoming  objects  of  medita- 
tion. We  see  the  different  superstitions  borrowing 
from  each  other  their  abstract  reveries  and  their 
ceremonies.  Religions  are  generally  unformed  rhap- 
sodies combined  by  new  Doctors  of  Divinity,  who, 
in  composing  them,  have  used  the  materials  of  their 
predecessors,  reserving  the  right  of  adding  or  sub- 
tracting what  suits  or  does  not  suit  their  present 
views.  The  religion  of  Egypt  served  evidently  as 
a  basis  for  the  religion  of  Moses,  who  expunged 
from  it  the  worship  of  idols.  Moses  was  but  an 
Egyptian  schismatic,  Christianity  is  but  a  reformed 
Judaism.  Mohammedanism  is  composed  of  Ju- 
daism, of  Christianity,  and  of  the  ancient  religion 
of  Arabia. 

CCI. — THEOLOGY   HAS   ALWAYS   TURNED   PHILOSO- 
PHY  FROM   ITS  TRUE   COURSE. 

From  the  most  remote  period  theology  alone 
regulated  the  march  of  philosophy.  What  aid  has 
it  lent  it  ?  It  changed  it  into  an  unintelligible 
jargon,  which  only  had  a  tendency  to  render  the 
clearest  truth  uncertain  ;    it  converted  the  art  of 


Theology  Explains  Nothing  in  Nature.      275 

\  zasoning  into  a  science  of  words  ;  it  threw  the 
human  mind  into  the  aerial  regions  of  metaphys- 
ics, where  it  unsuccessfully  occupied  itself  in 
sounding  useless  and  dangerous  abysses.  For 
physical  and  simple  causes,  this  philosophy  sub- 
stituted supernatural  causes,  or,  rather,  causes  truly 
occult ;  it  explained  difficult  phenomena  by  agents 
more  inconceivable  than  these  phenomena  ;  it  filled 
discourse  with  words  void  of  sense,  incapable  of 
giving  the  reason  of  things,  better  suited  to  ob- 
scure than  to  enlighten,  and  which  seem  invented 
but  to  discourage  man,  to  guard  him  against  the 
powers  of  his  own  mind,  to  make  him  distrust  the 
principles  of  reason  and  evidence,  and  to  surround 
the  truth  with  an  insurmountable  barrier. 

ecu. — THEOLOGY     NEITHER     EXPLAINS     NOR    EN- 
LIGHTENS ANYTHING   IN   THE    WORLD   OR    IN 

NATURE. 

If  we  would  believe  the  adherents  of  religion, 
nothing  could  be  explicable  in  the  world  without 
it;  nature  would  be  a  continual  enigma;  it  would 
be  impossible  for  man  to  comprehend  himself 
But,  at  the  bottom,  what  does  this  religion  ex- 
plain to  us  ?  The  more  we  examine  it,  the  more 
we  find  that  theological  notions  are  fit  but  to  per- 
plex all  our  ideas ;  they  change  all  into  mysteries ; 
they  explain  to  us  difficult  things  by  impossible 
things.  Is  it,  then,  explaining  things  to  attribute 
them  to  unknown  agencies,  to  invisible  powers,  to 
immaterial  causes  ?  Is  it  really  enlightening  the 
humin  mind  when,  in  its  embarrassment,  it  is  di- 


2/6  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

rected  to  the  "  depths  of  the  treasures  of  Divine 
Wisdom,"  upon  which  they  tell  us  it  is  in  vain  for 
us  to  turn  our  bold  regards?  Can  the  Divine  Nat- 
ure, which  we  know  nothing  about,  make  us  under- 
stand man's  nature,  which  we  find  so  difficult  to 
explain  ? 

Ask  a  Christian  philosopher  what  is  the  origin 
of  the  world.  He  will  answer  that  God  created 
the  universe.  What  is  God  ?  We  do  not  know 
anything  about  it.  What  is  it  to  create  ?  We 
have  no  idea  of  it !  What  is  the  cause  of  pesti- 
lences, famines,  wars,  sterility,  inundations,  earth- 
quakes? It  is  God's  wrath.  What  remedies  can 
prevent  these  calamities?  Prayers,  sacrifices,  pro- 
cessions, offerings,  ceremonies,  are,  we  are  told,  the 
true  means  to  disarm  Celestial  fury.  But  why  is 
Heaven  angry?  Because  men  are  wicked.  Why 
are  men  wicked?  Because  their  nature  is  corrupt. 
What  is  the  cause  of  this  corruption  ?  It  is,  a  the- 
ologian of  enlightened  Europe  will  reply,  because 
the  first  man  was  seduced  by  the  first  woman  to 
eat  of  an  apple  which  his  God  had  forbidden  him 
to  touch.  Who  induced  this  woman  to  do  such  a 
folly?  The  Devil.  Who  created  the  Devil?  God! 
Why  did  God  create  this  Devil  destined  to  pervert 
the  human  race?  We  know  nothing  about  it ;  it  is 
a  mystery  hidden  in  the  bosom  of  the  Deity. 

Does  the  earth  revolve  around  the  sun  ?  Two 
centuries  ago  a  devout  philosopher  would  have  re- 
plied that  such  a  thought  was  blasphemy,  because 
such  a  system  could  not  agree  with  the  Holy  Book, 
which  every  Christian   reveres  as  inspired  by  the 


Theology  has  Fettered  Human  Morals.       277 

Deity  Himself.  What  is  the  opinion  to-day  about 
it?  Notwithstanding  Divine  Inspiration,  the  Chris- 
tian philosophers  finally  concluded  to  rely  upon 
evidence  rather  than  upon  the  testimony  of  their 
inspired  books. 

What  is  the  hidden  principle  of  the  actions  and 
of  the  motions  of  the  human  body  ?  It  is  the  soul. 
What  is  a  soul?  It  is  a  spirit.  What  is  a  spirit? 
It  is  a  substance  which  has  neither  form,  color,  ex- 
pansion, nor  parts.  How  can  we  conceive  of  such 
a  substance  ?  How  can  it  move  a  body  ?  We  know 
nothing  about  it.  Have  brutes  souls  ?  The  Car- 
thusian assures  you  that  they  are  machines.  But 
do  we  not  see  them  act,  feel,  and  think  in  a  manner 
which  resembles  that  of  men?  This  is  a  pure  illu- 
sion, you  say.  But  why  do  you  deprive  the  brutes 
of  souls,  which,  without  understanding  it,  you  at- 
tribute to  men  ?  It  is  that  the  souls  of  the  brutes 
would  embarrass  our  theologians,  who,  content 
with  the  power  of  frightening  and  damning  the  im- 
mortal souls  of  men,  do  not  take  the  same  interest 
in  damning  those  of  the  brutes.  Such  are  the 
puerile  solutions  which  philosophy,  always  guided 
by  the  leading-strings  of  theology,  was  obliged  to 
bring  forth  to  explain  the  problems  of  the  physical 
and  moral  world. 

CCIII.— HOW  THEOLOGY  HAS  FETTERED  HUMAN 
MORALS  AND  RETARDED  THE  PROGRESS  OF 
ENLIGHTENMENT,  OF  REASON,  AND  OF  TRUTH. 

How  many  subterfuges  and  mental  gymnastics 
all  the  ancient  and  modern  thinkers  have  employed. 


2/8  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslie.'. 

in  order  to  avoid  falling  out  with  the  ministers  of 
the  Gods,  who  in  all  ages  were  the  true  tyrants  of 
thought  !  How  Descartes,  Malebranche,  Leibnitz, 
and  many  others  have  been  compelled  to  invent 
hypotheses  and  evasions  in  order  to  reconcile  their 
discoveries  with  the  reveries  and  the  blunders  which 
religion  had  rendered  sacred  !  With  what  precau- 
tions have  not  the  greatest  philosophers  guarded 
themselves  even  at  the  risk  of  being  absurd,  incon- 
sistent, and  unintelligible  whenever  their  ideas  did 
not  correspond  with  the  principles  of  theology ! 
Vigilant  priests  were  always  ready  to  extinguish 
systems  which  could  not  be  made  to  tally  with 
their  interests.  Theology  in  every  age  has  been 
the  bed  of  Procrustes  upon  which  this  brigand  ex- 
tended his  victims;  he  cut  off  the  limbs  when  they 
were  too  long,  or  stretched  them  by  horses  when 
they  were  shorter  than  the  bed  upon  which  he 
placed  them. 

What  sensible  man  who  has  a  love  for  science, 
and  is  interested  in  the  welfare  of  humanity,  can 
reflect  without  sorrow  and  pain  upon  the  loss  of 
so  many  profound,  laborious,  and  subtle  heads, 
who,  for  many  centuries,  have  foolishly  exhausted 
themselves  upon  idle  fancies  that  proved  to  be  in- 
jurious to  our  race  ?  What  light  could  have  been 
thrown  into  the  minds  of  many  famous  thinkers,  if, 
instead  of  occupying  themselves  with  a  useless 
theology,  and  its  impertinent  disputes,  they  had 
turned  their  attention  upon  intelligible  and  truly  im- 
portant objects.  Half  of  the  efforts  that  it  cost  the 
genius  that  was  able  to  forge  their  religious  opin- 


Theolagy  has  Fettered  Human  Morals.      279 

ions,  half  of  the  expense  which  their  frivolous  wor- 
ship cost  the  nations,  would  have  sufficed  to  en- 
lighten them  perfectly  upon  morality,  politics,  phi- 
losophy, medicine,  agriculture,  etc.  Superstition 
nearly  always  absorbs  the  attention,  the  admira- 
tion, and  the  treasures  of  the  people  ;  they  have  a 
very  expensive  religion ;  but  they  have  for  their 
money,  neither  light,  virtue,  nor  happiness. 

CCIV. — CONTINUATION. 

Some  ancient  and  modern  philosophers  have  had 
the  courage  to  accept  experience  and  reason  as  their 
guides,  and  to  shake  off  the  chains  of  superstition. 
Lucippe,  Democritus,  Epicurus,  Straton,  and  some 
other  Greeks,  dared  to  tear  away  the  thick  veil  of 
prejudice,  and  to  deliver  philosophy  from  theolog- 
ical fetters.  But  their  systems,  too  simple,  too 
sensible,  and  too  stripped  of  wonders  for  the  lovers 
of  fancy,  were  obliged  to  surrender  to  the  fabulous 
conjectures  of  Plato,  Socrates,  and  Zeno.  Among 
the  moderns,  Hobbes,  Spinoza,  Bayle,  and  others 
have  followed  the  path  of  Epicurus,  but  their  doc- 
trine found  but  few  votaries  in  a  world  still  too 
much  infatuated  with  fables  to  listen  to  reason. 

In  all  ages  one  could  not,  without  imminent  dan- 
ger, lay  aside  the  prejudices  which  opinion  had 
rendered  sacred.  No  one  was  permitted  to  make 
discoveries  of  any  kind ;  all  that  the  most  enlight- 
ened men  could  do  was  to  speak  and  write  with 
hidden  meaning ;  and  often,  by  a  cowardly  com- 
plaisance, to  shamefully  ally  falsehood  with  truth. 
A  few  of  them  had  a  double  doctrine — one  public 


28o  Common  Sense,  by  Jean  Meslier. 

and  the  other  secret.  The  key  of  this  last  having 
been  lost,  their  true  sentiments  often  became  unin- 
telligible and,  consequently,  useless  to  us.  How 
could  modern  philosophers  who,  being  threatened 
with  the  most  cruel  persecution,  were  called  upon 
to  renounce  reason  and  to  submit  to  faith — that  is 
to  say,  to  priestly  authority — I  say,  how  could 
men  thus  fettered  give  free  flight  to  their  genius, 
perfect  reason,  or  hasten  human  progress?  It  was 
but  in  fear  and  trembling  that  the  greatest  men 
obtained  glimpses  of  truth;  they  rarely  had  the 
courage  to  announce  it ;  those  who  dared  to  do  it 
have  generally  been  punished  for  their  temerity. 
Thanks  to  religion,  it  was  never  permitted  to  think 
aloud  or  to  combat  the  prejudices  of  which  man  is 
everywhere  the  victim  or  the  dupe. 

CCV. — WE  COULD  NOT  REPEAT  TOO  OFTEN  HOW 
EXTRAVAGANT  AND  FATAL  RELIGION  IS. 

Every  man  who  has  the  boldness  to  announce 
truths  to  the  world,  is  sure  to  receive  the  hatred  of 
the  priests  ;  the  latter  loudly  call  upon  the  powers 
that  be,  for  assistance  ;  they  need  the  assistance  of 
kings  to  sustain  their  arguments  and  their  Gods. 
These  clamors  show  the  weakness  of  their  cause. 

"  They  are  in  embarrassment  when  they  cry  for 
helpr 

It  is  not  permitted  to  err  in  the  matter  of  re- 
ligion ;  on  every  other  subject  we  can  be  deceived 
with  impunity ;  we  pity  those  who  go  astray,  and 
we  have  some  liking  for  the  persons  who  discover 


Religion  is  Pandora's  Box.  281 

truths  ner;  to  us.  But  as  soon  as  theology  sup- 
poses itself  concerned,  be  it  in  errors  or  discover- 
ies, a  holy  zeal  is  kindled  ;  the  sovereigns  extermi- 
nate ;  the  people  fly  into  frenzy ;  and  the  nations  are 
all  stirred  up  without  knowing  why.  Is  there  any- 
thing more  afflicting  than  to  see  public  and  indi- 
vidual welfare  depend  upon  a  futile  science,  which 
is  void  of  principles,  which  has  no  standing  ground 
but  imagination,  and  which  presents  to  the  mind 
but  words  void  of  sense  ?  What  good  is  a  religion 
which  no  one  understands ;  which  continually  tor- 
ments those  who  trouble  themselves  about  it ; 
which  is  incapable  of  rendering  men  better ;  and 
which  often  gives  them  the  credit  of  being  unjust 
and  wicked  ?  Is  there  a  more  deplorable  folly,  and 
one  that  ought  more  to  be  abated,  than  that  which, 
far  from  doing  any  good  to  the  human  race,  does 
but  blind  it,  cause  transports,  and  render  it  miser- 
able, depriving  it  of  truth,  which  alone  can  soften 
the  rigor  of  fate  ? 

CCVI. — RELIGION   IS   PANDORA'S   BOX,  AND   THIS 
FATAL  BOX   IS   OPEN. 

Religion  has  in  every  age  kept  the  human  mind 
in  darkness  and  held  it  in  ignorance  of  its  true  re- 
lations, of  its  real  duties  and  its  true  interests.  It 
is  but  in  removing  its  clouds  and  phantoms  that  we 
may  find  the  sources  of  truth,  reason,  morality,  and 
the  actual  motives  which  inspire  virtue.  This  re- 
ligion puts  us  on  the  wrong  track  for  the  causes  of 
our  evils,  and  the  natural  remedies  which  we  can 


282  Common  Sense,  by  yean  Meslier. 

apply.  Far  from  curing  them,  it  can  but  multiply 
them  and  render  them  more  durable.  Let  us,  then, 
say,  with  the  celebrated  Lord  Bolingbroke,  in  his 
posthumous  works  :  "  Theology  is  the  Box  of  Pan- 
dora; and  if  it  is  impossible  to  close  it,  it  is  at  least 
useful  to  give  warning  that  this  fatal  box  is  open." 


I  believe,  my  dear  friends,  that  I  have  given  you  a  sufficient 
preventative  against  all  these  follies.  Your  reason  will  do 
more  than  my  discourses,  and  I  sincerely  wish  that  we  had 
only  to  complain  of  being  deceived  !  But  human  blood  has 
flowed  since  the  time  of  Constantine  for  the  establishment  of 
these  horrible  impositions.  The  Roman,  the  Greek,  and  the 
Protestant  churches  by  vain,  ambitious,  and  hypocritical  dis- 
putes have  ravaged  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa.  Add  to  these 
men,  whom  these  quarrels  murdered,  the  multitudes  of  monks 
%nd  of  nuns,  who  became  sterile  by  their  profession,  and  you 
will  perceive  that  the  Christian  religion  has  destroyed  half  of 
the  human  race. 

I  conclude  with  the  desire  that  we  may  return  to  Nature, 
whose  declared  enemy  the  Christian  religion  is,  and  which 
necessarily  instructs  us  to  do  unto  others  as  we  would  wish 
them  to  do  unto  us.  Then  the  universe  will  be  composed  of 
good  citizens,  just  fathers,  obedient  children,  tender  friends. 
Nature  has  given  us  this  Religion,  in  giving  us  Reason.  May 
fanaticism  pervert  it  no  more  !  I  die  filled  with  these  desires 
more  than  with  hope. 

Etrhpigny,  March  15,  173a.  JOHN  MESLIER. 


ABSTRACT 

OF   THE 

TESTAMENT   OF   JOHN    MESLIER, 

By  VOLTAIRE  ; 

OR, 

SENTIMENTS    OF    THE     CURATE    OP 

ETREPIGNY    AND    OF    BUT, 

ADDRESSED  TO  HIS  PARISHIONERS, 


I. — OF  RELIGIONS. 


As  there  is  no  one  religious  denomination  which 
does  not  pretend  to  be  truly  founded  upon  the 
authority  of  God,  and  entirely  exempt  from  all  the 
errors  and  impositions  which  are  found  in  the  oth- 
ers, it  is  for  those  who  purpose  to  establish  the 
truth  of  the  faith  of  their  sect,  to  show,  by  clear 
and  convincing  proofs,  that  it  is  of  Divine  origin  ; 
as  this  is  lacking,  we  must  conclude  that  it  is  but 
of  human  invention,  and  full  of  errors  and  decep- 
tions ;  for  it  is  incredible  that  an  Omnipotent  and 
Infinitely  good  God  would  have  desired  to  give 
laws  and  ordinances  to  men,  and  not  have  wished 
them  to  bear  better  authenticated  marks  of  truth, 
than  those  of  the  numerous  impostors.  Moreover, 
there  is  not  one  of  our  Christ-worshipers,  of  what- 
ever sect  he  may  be,  who  can  make  us  see,  by  con- 
vincing proofs,  that  his  religion  is  exclusively  of 
Divine  origin  ;  and  for  want   of  such  proof  they 

r283) 


284  Abstract  of  the 

have  been  for  many  centuries  contesting  this  sub- 
ject among  themselves,  even  to  persecuting  each 
other  by  fire  and  sword  to  maintain  their  opinions ; 
there  is,  however,  not  one  sect  of  them  all  which 
could  convince  and  persuade  the  others  by  such 
witnesses  of  truth  ;  this  certainly  would  not  be,  if 
they  had,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  convincing 
proofs  of  Divine  origin.  For,  as  no  one  of  any 
religious  sect,  enlightened  and  of  good  faith,  pre- 
tends to  hold  and  to  favor  error  and  falsehood  ; 
and  as,  on  the  contrary,  each,  on  his  side,  pretends 
to  sustain  truth,  the  true  means  of  banishing  all 
errors,  and  of  uniting  all  men  in  peace  in  the  same 
sentiments  and  in  the  same  form  of  religion,  would 
be  to  produce  convincing  proofs  and  testimonies  of 
the  truth  ;  and  thus  show  that  such  religion  is  of 
Divine  origin,  and  not  any  of  the  others ;  then 
each  one  would  accept  this  truth  ;  and  no  person 
would  dare  to  question  these  testimonies,  or  sus- 
tain the  side  of  error  and  imposition,  lest  he  should 
be,  at  the  same  time,  confounded  by  contrary 
proofs :  but,  as  these  proofs  are  not  found  in  any 
religion,  it  gives  to  impostors  occasion  to  invent 
and  boldly  sustain  all  kinds  of  falsehoods. 

Here  are  still  other  proofs,  which  will  not  be 
less  evident,  of  the  falsity  of  human  religions,  and 
especially  of  the  falsity  of  our  own.  Every  religion 
which  relies  upon  mysteries  as  its  foundation,  and 
which  takes,  as  a  rule  of  its  doctrine  and  its  mor- 
als, a  principle  of  errors,  and  which  is  at  the  same 
time  a  source  of  trouble  and  eternal  divisions 
among  men,  can  not  be  a  true  religion,  nor  a  Di- 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  285 

vine  Institution.  Now,  human  religions,  especially 
the  Catholic,  establish  as  the  basis  of  their  doctrine 
and  of  their  morals,  a  principle  of  errors  ;  then,  it 
follows  that  these  religions  can  not  be  true,  or  of 
Divine  origin.  I  do  not  see  that  we  can  deny  the 
first  proposition  of  this  argument  ;  it  is  too  clear 
and  too  evident  to  admit  of  a  doubt.  I  pass  to  the 
proof  of  the  second  proposition,  which  is,  that  the 
Christian  religion  takes  for  the  rule  of  its  doctrine 
and  its  morals  what  they  call  faith,  a  blind  trust, 
but  yet  firm,  and  secured  by  some  laws  or  revela- 
tions of  some  Deity.  We  must  necessarily  suppose 
that  it  is  thus,  because  it  is  this  belief  in  some 
Deity  and  in  some  Divine  Revelations,  which  gives 
all  the  credit  and  all  the  authority  that  it  has  in 
the  world,  and  without  which  we  could  make  no 
use  of  what  it  prescribes.  This  is  why  there  is  no 
religion  which  does  not  expressly  recommend  its 
votaries  to  be  firm  in  their  faith.*  This  is  the  rea- 
son that  all  Christians  accept  as  a  maxim,  that 
faith  is  the  commencement  and  the  basis  of  salvation^ 
that  it  is  the  root  of  all  justice  and  of  all  sanctifi- 
cation,  as  it  is  expressed  at  the  Council  of  Trent. — 
Sess.  6,  Ch.  VIII. 

Now  it  is  evident  that  a  blind  faith  in  all  which 
is  proposed  in  the  name  and  authority  of  God,  is  a 
principle  of  errors  and  falsehoods.  As  a  proof,  we 
see  that  there  is  no  impostor  in  the  matter  of  re- 
ligion, who  does  not  pretend  to  be  clothed  with 
the  name  and  the  authority  of  God,  and  who  docs 


*  "  Estate  fortes  in  fide  I ' 


286  Abstract  of  the 

not  claim  to  be  especially  inspired  and  sent  by 
God.  Not  only  is  this  faith  and  blind  belief  which 
they  accept  as  a  basis  of  their  doctrine,  a  principle 
of  errors,  etc.,  but  it  is  also  a  source  of  trouble  and 
division  among  men  for  the  maintenance  of  their 
religion.  There  is  no  cruelty  which  they  do  not 
practice  upon  each  other  under  this  specious  pre- 
text. 

Now  then,  it  is  not  credible  that  an  Almighty, 
All-Kind,  and  All-Wise  God  desired  to  use  such 
means  or  such  a  deceitful  way  to  inform  men  of 
His  wishes  ;  for  this  would  be  manifestly  desiring 
to  lead  them  into  error  and  to  lay  snares  in 
their  way,  in  order  to  make  them  accept  the  side 
of  falsehood.  It  is  impossible  to  believe  that  a 
God  who  loved  unity  and  peace,  the  welfare  and 
the  happiness  of  men,  would  ever  have  established 
as  the  basis  of  His  religion,  such  a  fatal  source  of 
trouble  and  of  eternal  divisions  among  them.  Such 
religions  can  not  be  true,  neither  could  they  have 
been  instituted  by  God.  But  I  see  that  our  Christ- 
worshipers  will  not  fail  to  have  recourse  to  their 
pretended  motives  for  credulity,  and  that  they  will 
say,  that  although  their  faith  and  belief  may  be 
blind  in  one  sense,  they  are  nevertheless  supported 
by  such  clear  and  convincing  testimonies  of  truth, 
that  it  would  be  not  only  imprudence,  but  temerity 
and  folly  not  to  surrender  one's  self  They  generally 
reduce  these  pretended  motives  to  three  or  four 
leading  features.  The  first,  they  draw  from  the 
pretended  holiness  of  their  religion,  which  con- 
demns vice,  and  which  recommends  the  practice 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  287 

of  virtue.  Its  doctrine  Is  so  pure,  so  simple,  ac- 
cording to  what  they  say,  that  it  is  evident  it  could 
spring  but  from  the  sanctity  of  an  infinitely  good 
and  wise  God. 

The  second  motive  for  credulity,  they  draw  from 
the  innocence  and  the  holiness  of  life  in  those  who 
embraced  it  with  love,  and  defended  it  by  suffering 
death  and  the  most  cruel  torments,  rather  than  for- 
sake it :  it  not  being  credible  that  such  great  per- 
sonages would  allow  themselves  to  be  deceived  in 
their  belief,  that  they  would  renounce  all  the  ad- 
vantages of  life,  and  expose  themselves  to  such 
cruel  torments  and  persecutions,  in  order  to  main- 
tain errors  and  impositions.  Their  third  motive 
for  credulity,  they  draw  from  the  oracles  and 
prophecies  which  have  so  long  been  rendered  in 
their  favor,  and  which  they  pretend  have  been  ac- 
complished in  a  manner  which  permits  no  doubt. 
Finally,  their  fourth  motive  for  credulity,  which  is 
the  most  important  of  all,  is  drawn  from  the  grand- 
eur and  the  multitude  of  the  miracles  performed, 
in  all  ages,  and  in  every  place,  in  favor  of  their  re- 
ligion. 

But  it  is  easy  to  refute  all  these  useless  reason- 
ings and  to  show  the  falsity  of  all  these  evidences. 
For,  firstly,  the  arguments  which  our  Christ- 
worshipers  draw  from  their  pretended  motives  for 
credulity  can  serve  to  establish  and  confirm  false- 
hood as  well  a^  truth  ;  for  we  see  that  there  is  no 
religion,  no  matter  how  false  it  may  be,  which  does 
not  pretend  to  have  a  sound  and  true  doctrine,  and 
which,  in  its  way,  does  not  condemn  all  vices  and 


288  Abstract  of  the 

recommend  the  practice  of  all  virtues ;  there  is  not 
one  which  has  not  had  firm  and  zealous  defenders 
who  have  suffered  persecution  in  order  to  maintain 
their  religion ;  and,  finally,  there  is  none  which 
does  not  pretend  to  have  wonders  and  miracles 
that  have  been  performed  in  their  favor.  The 
Mohammedans,  the  Indians,  the  heathen,  as  well 
as  the  Christians,  claim  miracles  in  their  religions. 
If  our  Christ-worshipers  make  use  of  their  mira- 
cles and  their  prophecies,  they  are  found  no  less  in 
the  Pagan  religions  than  in  theirs.  Thus  the  ad- 
vantage we  might  draw  from  all  these  motives  for 
credulity,  is  found  about  the  same  in  all  sorts  of 
religions.  This  being  established,  as  the  history 
and  practice  of  all  religions  demonstrate,  it  evi- 
dently follows  that  all  these  pretended  motives  for 
credulity,  upon  which  our  Christ-worshipers  place 
so  much  value,  are  found  equally  in  all  religions ; 
and,  consequently,  can  not  serve  as  reliable  evi- 
dences of  the  truth  of  their  religion  more  than  of 
the  truth  of  any  other.     The  result  is  clear. 

Secondly.  In  order  to  give  an  idea  of  the  resem- 
blance of  the  miracles  of  Paganism  to  those  of 
Christianity,  could  we  not  say,  for  example,  that 
there  would  be  more  reason  to  believe  Philostratus 
in  what  he  recites  of  the  life  of  Apollonius  than  to 
believe  all  the  evangelists  in  what  they  say  of  the 
miracles  of  Jesus  Christ ;  because  we  know,  at  least 
that  Philostratus  was  a  man  of  intelligence,  elo- 
quence, and  fluency ;  that  he  was  the  secretary  of 
the  Empress  Julia,  wife  of  the  Emperor  Severus, 
and  that  he  was  requested  by  this  empress  to  write 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  289 

the  life  and  the  wonderful  acts  of  Apollonius  ?  It 
is  evident  that  Apollonius  rendered  himself  famous 
by  great  and  extraordinary  deeds,  since  an  empress 
was  sufficiently  interested  in  them  to  desire  a  his- 
tory of  his  life.  This  is  what  can  not  be  said  of 
Jesus  Christ,  nor  of  those  who  have  furnished  us 
His  biography,  for  they  were  but  ignorant  men  of 
the  common  people,  poor  workmen,  fishermen,  who 
had  not  even  the  sense  to  relate  consistently  the 
facts  which  they  speak  of,  and  which  they  mutually 
contradict  very  often.  In  regard  to  the  One  whose 
life  and  actions  they  describe,  if  He  had  really  per- 
formed the  miracles  attributed  to  Him,  He  would 
have  rendered  Himself  notable  by  His  beautiful 
acts ;  every  one  would  have  admired  Him,  and 
there  would  be  statues  erected  to  Him  as 
was  done  for  the  Gods;  but  instead  of  that.  He 
was  regarded  as  a  man  of  no  consequence,  as  a 
fanatic,  etc.  Josephus,  the  historian,  after  having 
spoken  of  the  great  miracles  performed  in  favor  of 
his  nation  and  his  religion,  immediately  dimin- 
ishes their  credibility  and  renders  it  suspicious  by 
saying  that  he  leaves  to  each  one  the  liberty  of 
believing  what  he  chooses;  this  evidently  shows 
that  he  had  not  much  faith  in  them.  It  also  gives 
occasion  to  the  more  judicious  to  regard  the  histo- 
ries which  speak  of  this  kind  of  things  as  fabulous 
narrations.*  All  that  can  be  said  upon  this  subject 
shows  us  clearly  that   pretended   miracles  can  be 


♦  See  Montaigne,  and  the  author  of  the  "  Apology  for  Great 
Men." 


290  Abstract  of  the 

invented  to  favor  vice  and  falsehood  as  well  as 
justice  and  truth. 

I  prove  it  by  the  evidence  of  what  even  our 
Christ-worshipers  call  the  Word  of  God,  and  by  the 
evidence  of  the  One  they  adore ;  for  their  books, 
which  they  claim  contain  the  Word  of  God,  and 
Christ  Himself,  whom  they  adore  as  a  God-made 
man,  show  us  explicitly  that  there  are  not  only  false 
prophets — that  is  to  say,  impostors — who  claim  to 
be  sent  by  God,  and  who  speak  in  His  name,  but 
which  show  as  explicitly  that  these  false  prophets 
can  perform  such  great  and  prodigious  miracles  as 
shall  deceive  the  very  elect.*  More  than  this,  all 
these  pretended  performers  of  miracles  wish  us  to 
put  faith  only  in  them,  and  not  in  those  who  belong 
to  an  opposite  party. 

On  one  occasion  one  of  these  pretended  prophets, 
named  Sedecias,  being  contradicted  by  another, 
named  Michea,  the  former  struck  the  latter  and  said 
to  him,  pleasantly,  "  By  what  way  did  the  Spirit 
of  God  pass  from  me  to  you  ?  " 

But  how  can  these  pretended  miracles  be  the 
evidences  of  truth  ?  for  it  is  clear  that  they  were 
not  performed.  For  it  would  be  necessary  to  know : 
Firstly,  If  those  who  are  said  to  be  the  first  authors 
of  these  narrations  truly  are  such.  Secondly,  If  they 
were  honest  men,  worthy  of  confidence,  wise  and 
enlightened ;  and  to  know  if  they  were  not  preju- 
diced in  favor  of  those  of  whom  they  speak  so  fa- 
vorably.    Thirdly,  If  they  have  examined  all  the 


♦  See  Matthew,  chapter  xxiv.,  verses  5,  21-27. 


Testament  of  yoJm  Meslier.  291 

circumstances  of  the  facts  which  they  relate ;  if 
they  know  them  well ;  and  if  they  make  a  faithful 
report  of  them.  Fourthly,  If  the  books  or  the  an- 
cient histories  which  relate  all  these  great  miracles 
have  not  been  falsified  and  changed  in  course  of 
time,  as  many  others  have  been  ? 

If  we  consult  Tacitus  and  many  other  celebrated 
historians,  in  regard  to  Moses  and  his  nation,  we 
shall  see  that  they  are  considered  as  a  horde  of 
thieves  and  bandits.  Magic  and  astrology  were  in 
those  days  the  only  fashionable  sciences ;  and  as 
Moses  was,  it  is  said,  instructed  in  the  wisdom  of 
the  Egyptians,  it  was  not  difficult  for  him  to  inspire 
veneration  and  attachment  for  himself  in  the  rustic 
and  ignorant  children  of  Jacob,  and  to  induce  them 
to  accept,  in  their  misery,  the  discipline  he  wished 
to  give  them.  That  is  very  different  from  what  the 
Jews  and  our  Christ-worshipers  wish  to  make  us 
believe.  By  what  certain  rule  can  we  know  that  we 
should  put  faith  in  these  rather  than  in  the  others? 
There  is  no  sound  reason  for  it.  There  is  as  little 
of  certainty  and  even  of  probability  in  the  miracles 
of  the  New  Testament  as  in  those  of  the  Old. 

It  will  serve  no  purpose  to  say  that  the  histories 
which  relate  the  facts  contained  in  the  Gospels 
have  been  regarded  as  true  and  sacred  ;  that  they 
have  always  been  faithfully  preserved  without  any 
alteration  of  the  truths  which  they  contain  ;  since 
this  is  perhaps  the  very  reason  why  they  should  be 
the  more  suspected,  having  been  corrupted  by  those 
who  drew  profit  from  them,  or  who  feared  that  they 
were  not  sufficiently  favorable  to  them. 


292  Abstract  of  the 

Generally,  authors  who  transcribe  this  kind  of 
histories,  take  the  right  to  enlarge  or  to  retrench 
all  they  please,  in  order  to  serve  their  own  inter- 
ests. This  is  what  even  our  Christ-worshipers  can 
not  deny  ;  for,  without  mentioning  several  other 
important  personages  who  recognized  the  addi- 
tions, the  retrenchments,  and  the  falsifications 
which  have  been  made  at  different  times  in  their 
Holy  Scriptures,  their  saint  Jerome,  a  famous 
philosopher  among  them,  formally  said  in  several 
passages  of  his  "  Prologues,"  that  they  had  been 
corrupted  and  falsified  ;  being,  even  in  his  day,  in 
the  hands  of  all  kinds  of  persons,  who  added  and 
suppressed  whatever  they  pleased  ;  so,  "  Thus  there 
were,"  said  he,  "  as  many  different  models  as  differ- 
ent copies  of  the  Gospels." 

In  regard  to  the  books  of  the  Old  Testament, 
Esdras,  a  priest  of  the  law,  testifies  himself  to  hav- 
ing corrected  and  completed  wholly  the  pretended 
sacred  books  of  his  law,  which  had  partly  been  lost 
and  partly  corrupted.  He  divided  them  into  twen- 
ty-two books,  according  to  the  number  of  the  He- 
braic letters,  and  wrote  several  other  books,  whose 
doctrine  was  to  be  revealed  to  the  learned  men 
alone.  If  these  books  have  been  partly  lost  and 
partly  corrupted,  as  Esdras  and  St.  Jerome  testify 
in  so  many  passages,  there  is  then  no  certainty  in 
regard  to  what  they  contain  ;  and  as  for  Esdras 
saying  he  had  corrected  and  compiled  them  by  the 
inspiration  of  God  Himself  there  is  no  certainty  of 
that,  since  there  is  no  impostor  who  would  not 
make  the  same  claim.  All  the  books  of  the  law 
of  Moses  and  of  the  prophets  which  could  be  found, 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  293 

were  burned  in  the  days  of  Antiochus.  The  Tal- 
mud, considered  by  the  Jews  as  a  holy  and  sacred 
book,  and  which  contains  all  the  Divine  laws,  with 
the  sentences  and  notable  sayings  of  the  Rabbins, 
of  their  interpretation  of  the  Divine  and  of  the 
human  laws,  and  a  prodigious  number  of  other 
secrets  and  mysteries  in  the  Hebraic  language,  is 
considered  by  the  Christians  as  a  book  made  up  of 
reveries,  fables,  impositions,  and  ungodliness.  In 
the  year  1559  they  burned  in  Rome,  according  to 
the  command  of  the  inquisitors  of  the  faith,  twelve 
hundred  of  these  Talmuds,  which  were  found  in  a 
library  in  the  city  of  Cremona.  The  Pharisees,  a 
famous  sect  among  the  Jews,  accepted  but  the  five 
books  of  Moses,  and  rejected  all  the  prophets. 
Among  the  Christians,  Marcion  and  his  votaries 
rejected  the  books  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and 
introduced  other  fashionable  Scriptures.  Carpoc- 
rates  and  his  followers  did  the  same,  and  rejected 
the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  and  contended 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  but  a  man  like  all  others. 
The  Marcionites  repudiated  as  bad,  the  whole  of 
the  Old  Testament,  and  rejected  the  greater  part 
of  the  four  Gospels  and  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul. 
The  Ebionites  accepted  but  the  Gospel  of  S*^  Mat- 
thew, rejecting  the  three  others,  and  the  Epistles 
of  St.  Paul.  The  Marcionites  published  a  Gospel 
under  the  name  of  St.  Matthias,  in  order  to  con- 
firm their  doctrine.  The  apostles  introduced  other 
Scriptures  in  order  to  maintain  their  errors ;  and  to 
carry  out  this,  they  made  use  of  certain  Acts,  which 
they  attributed  to  St.  Andrew  and  to  St.  Thomas. 
The   Manicheans  wrote  a  gospel  of  their  own 


294  Abstract  of  the 

style,  and  rejected  the  Scriptures  of  the  prophets 
and  the  apostles.  The  Etzaites  sold  a  certain  book 
which  they  claimed  to  have  come  from  Heaven  ; 
they  cut  up  the  other  Scriptures  according  to  their 
fancy.  Origen  himself,  with  all  his  great  mind, 
corrupted  the  Scriptures  and  forged  changes  in  the 
allegories  which  did  not  suit  him,  thus  corrupting 
the  sense  of  the  prophets  and  apostles,  and  even 
some  of  the  principal  points  of  doctrine.  His 
books  are  now  mutilated  and  falsified  ;  they  are 
but  fragments  collected  by  others  who  have  ap- 
peared since.  The  Ellogians  attributed  to  the 
heretic  Corinthus  the  Gospel  and  the  Apocalypse 
of  St.  John  ;  this  is  why  they  reject  them.  The 
heretics  of  our  last  centuries  reject  as  apocryphal 
several  books  which  the  Roman  Catholics  consider 
as  true  and  sacred — such  as  the  books  of  Tobias, 
Judith,  Esther,  Baruch,  the  Song  of  the  Three 
Children  in  the  Furnace,  the  History  of  Susannah, 
and  that  of  the  Idol  Bel,  the  Wisdom  of  Solomon, 
Ecclesiasticus,  the  first  and  second  book  of  Macca- 
bees ;  to  which  uncertain  and  doubtful  books  we 
could  add  several  others  that  have  been  attributed 
to  the  other  apostles  ;  as,  for  example,  the  Acts 
of  St.  Thomas,  his  Circuits,  his  Gospel,  and  his 
Apocalypse ;  the  Gospel  of  St.  Bartholomew, 
that  of  St.  Matthias,  of  St.  Jacques,  of  St.  Pe- 
ter and  of  the  Apostles,  as  also  the  Deeds  of 
St.  Peter,  his  book  on  Preaching,  and  that  of 
his  Apocalypse  ;  that  of  the  Judgment,  that  of 
the  Childhood  of  the  Saviour,  and  several  others 
of  the  same  kind,  which  are  all  rejected  as  apoc- 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  295 

ryphal  by  the  Roman  Catholics,  even  by  the  Pope 
Gclasee,  and  by  the  S.  S.  F.  F.  of  the  Romish 
Communion.  That  which  most  confirms  that  there 
is  no  foundation  of  truth  in  regard  to  the  authority 
given  to  these  books,  is  that  those  who  maintain 
their  Divinity  are  compelled  to  acknowledge  that 
they  have  no  certainty  as  a  basis,  if  their  faith  did 
not  assure  them  and  oblige  them  to  believe  it. 
Now,  as  faith  is  but  a  principle  of  error  and  impos- 
ture, how  can  faith,  that  is  to  say,  a  blind  belief, 
render  the  books  reliable  which  are  themselves  the 
foundation  of  this  blind  belief?  What  a  pity  and 
what  insanity  !  But  let  us  see  if  these  books  have 
of  themselves  any  feature  of  truth  ;  as,  for  exam- 
ple, of  erudition,  of  wisdom,  and  of  holiness,  or 
some  other  perfections  which  are  suited  only  to  a 
God  ;  and  if  the  miracles  which  are  cited  agree 
with  what  we  ought  to  think  of  the  grandeur, 
goodness,  justice,  and  infinite  wisdom  of  an  Om- 
nipotent God. 

There  is  no  erudition,  no  sublime  thought,  nor 
any  production  which  surpasses  the  ordinary  ca- 
pacities of  the  human  mind.  On  the  contrary,  we 
shall  see  on  one  side  fabulous  tales  similar  to  that  of 
a  woman  formed  of  a  man's  rib  ;  of  the  pretended 
terrestrial  Paradise ;  of  a  serpent  which  spoke, 
which  reasoned,  and  which  was  more  cunning  than 
man  ;  of  an  ass  which  spoke,  and  reprimanded  its 
master  for  ill-treating  it  ;  of  a  universal  deluge,  and 
of  an  ark  where  animals  of  all  kinds  were  inclosed  ; 
of  the  confusion  of  languages  and  of  the  division 
of  the  nations,  without  speaking  of  numerous  other 


296  Abstract  of  the 

useless  narrations  upon  low  and  frivolous  subjects 
which  important  authors  would  scorn  to  rci'ate. 
All  these  narrations  appear  to  be  fables,  as  much 
as  those  invented  about  the  industry  of  Prome- 
theus, the  box  of  Pandora,  the  war  of  the  Giants 
against  the  Gods,  and  similar  others  which  the 
poets  have  invented  to  amuse  the  men  of  their  time. 

On  the  other  hand  we  will  see  a  mixture  of  laws 
and  ordinances,  or  superstitious  practices  concern- 
ing sacrifices,  the  purifications  of  the  old  law,  the 
senseless  distinctions  in  regard  to  animals,  of  which 
it  supposes  some  to  be  pure  and  others  to  be  im- 
pure. These  laws  are  no  more  respectable  than 
those  of  the  most  idolatrous  nations.  We  shall  see 
but  simple  stories,  true  or  false,  of  several  kings, 
princes,  or  individuals,  who  lived  right  or  wrong, 
or  who  performed  noble  or  mean  actions,  with 
other  low  and  frivolous  things  also  related. 

From  all  this,  it  is  evident  that  no  great  genius 
was  required,  nor  Divine  Revelations  to  produce 
these  things.     It  would  not  be  creditable  to  a  God. 

Finally,  we  see  in  these  books  but  the  discourses, 
the  conduct,  and  the  actions  of  those  renowned 
prophets  who  proclaimed  themselves  especially  in- 
spired by  God.  We  will  see  their  way  of  acting  and 
speaking,  their  dreams,  their  illusions,  their  reveries ; 
and  it  will  be  easy  to  judge  whether  they  do  not 
resemble  visionaries  and  fanatics  much  more  than 
wise  and  enlightenec]  persons. 

There  are,  however,  in  a  few  of  these  books,  sev- 
eral good  teachings  and  beautiful  maxims  of  morals, 
as  in  the  Proverbs  attributed  to  Solomon,  in  the  book 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  29; 

of  "'A/'isdom  and  of  Ecclesiastes ;  but  this  same  Sol- 
omon, the  wisest  of  their  writers,  is  also  the  most 
incredulous  ;  he  doubts  even  the  immortality  of  the 
soul,  and  concludes  his  works  by  saying  that  there 
is  nothing  good  but  to  enjoy  in  peace  the  fruits  of 
one's  labor,  and  to  live  with  those  whom  we  love. 

How  superior  are  the  authors  who  are  called  pro- 
fane, such  as  Xenophon,  Plato,  Cicero,  the  Em- 
peror Antoninus,  the  Emperor  Julian,  Virgil,  etc., 
to  the  books  which  we  are  told  are  inspired  of 
God.  I  can  truly  say  that  the  fables  of  /Esop,  for 
example,  are  certainly  more  ingenious  and  more 
instructive  than  all  these  rough  and  poor  parables 
which  are  related  in  the  Gospels. 

But  what  shows  us  that  this  kind  of  books  is  not 
of  Divine  Inspiration,  is,  that  aside  from  the  low 
order,  coarseness  of  style,  and  the  lack  of  system 
in  the  narrations  of  the  different  facts,  which  are 
very  badly  arranged,  we  do  not  see  that  the  authors 
agree  ;  they  contradict  each  other  in  several  things  ; 
they  had  not  even  sufficient  enlightenment  or  nat- 
ural talents  to  write  a  histoiy. 

Here  are  some  examples  of  the  contradictions 
which  are  found  among  them.  The  Evangelist 
Matthew  claims  that  Jesus  Christ  descended  from 
king  David  by  his  son  Solomon  through  Joseph, 
reputed  to  be  His  father;  and  Luke  claims  that 
He  is  descended  from  the  same  David  by  his  son 
Nathan  through  Joseph. 

Matthew  says,  in  speaking  of  Jesus,  that,  it  being 
reported  in  Jerusalem  that  a  new  king  of  the  Jews 
was  bom,  and  that  the  wise  men  had  come  to  adore 


298  Abstract  of  the 

Him,  the  king  Herod,  fearing  that  this  pretended 
new  king  would  rob  him  of  his  crown  some  day, 
caused  the  murder  of  all  the  new-born  children  un- 
der two  years,  in  all  the  neighborhood  of  Bethlehem, 
where  he  had  been  told  that  this  new  king  was  born  ; 
and  that  Joseph  and  the  mother  of  Jesus,  having 
been  warned  in  a  dream  by  an  angel,  of  this  wick- 
ed intention,  took  flight  immediately  to  Egypt, 
where  they  stayed  until  the  death  of  Herod,  which 
happened  many  years  afterward. 

On  the  contrary,  Luke  asserts  that  Joseph  and 
the  mother  of  Jesus  lived  peaceably  during  six 
weeks  in  the  place  where  their  child  Jesus  was 
born ;  that  He  was  circumcised  according  to  the 
law  of  the  Jews,  eight  days  after  His  birth ;  and 
when  the  time  prescribed  by  the  law  for  the  purifi- 
cation of  His  mother  had  arrived,  she  and  Joseph, 
her  husband,  carried  Him  to  Jerusalem  in  order  to 
present  Him  to  God  in  His  temple,  and  to  offer  at 
the  same  time  a  sacrifice  which  was  ordained  by 
God's  law ;  after  which  they  returned  to  Galilee, 
into  their  town  of  Nazareth,  where  their  child  Je- 
sus grew  every  day  in  grace  and  in  wisdom.  Luke 
goes  on  to  say  that  His  father  and  His  mother 
went  every  year  to  Jerusalem  on  the  solemn  days 
of  their  Easter  feast,  but  makes  no  mention  of 
their  flight  into  Egypt,  nor  of  the  cruelty  of  Herod 
toward  the  children  of  the  province  of  Bethlehem. 
In  regard  to  the  cruelty  of  Herod,  as  neither  the 
historians  of  that  time  speak  of  it,  nor  Josephus, 
the  historian  who  wrote  the  life  of  this  Herod,  and 
as  the  other  Evangelists  do  not  mention  it,  it  is 


Testament  of  yohn  Meslier.  299 

evident  that  the  journey  of  those  wise  men,  guided 
by  a  star,  this  massacre  of  little  children,  and  this 
flight  to  Egypt,  were  but  absurd  falsehoods.  For 
it  is  not  credible  that  Josephus,  who  blamed  the 
vices  of  this  king,  could  have  been  silent  on  such  a 
dark  and  detestable  action,  if  what  the  Evangelist 
said  had  been  true. 

In  regard  to  the  duration  of  the  public  life  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  according  to  what  the  first  three  Evan- 
gelists say,  there  could  be  scarcely  more  than  three 
months  from  the  time  of  His  baptism  until  His 
death,  supposing  He  was  thirty  years  old  when  He 
was  baptized  by  John,  according  to  Luke,  and  that 
He  was  born  on  the  25th  of  December.  For,  from 
this  baptism,  which  was  in  the  year  15  of  Tiberius 
Caesar,  and  in  the  year  when  Anne  and  Caiaphas 
were  high  -  priests,  to  the  first  Easter  following, 
which  was  in  the  month  of  March,  there  was  but 
about  three  months  ;  according  to  what  the  first 
three  Evangelists  say,  He  was  crucified  on  the  eve 
of  the  first  Easter  following  His  baptism,  and  the 
first  time  He  went  to  Jerusalem  with  His  disciples; 
because  all  that  they  say  of  His  baptism,  of  His 
travels,  of  His  miracles,  of  His  preaching,  of  His 
death  and  passion,  must  have  taken  place  in  the 
same  year  of  His  baptism,  for  the  Evangelists 
speak  of  no  other  year  following,  and  it  appears 
even  by  the  narration  of  His  acts  that  He  perform- 
ed them  consecutively  immediately  after  His  bap- 
tism, and  in  a  very  short  time,  during  which  we  see 
but  an  interval  of  six  days  before  his  Transfigura- 
tion ;  during  these  six  days  we  do  not  see  that  He  did 


300  Abstract  of  the 

anything.  We  see  by  this  that  He  lived  but  about 
three  months  after  His  baptism,  from  which,  if  we 
subtract  the  forty  days  and  forty  nights  which  He 
passed  in  the  desert  immediately  after  His  baptism, 
it  would  follow  that  the  length  of  His  public  life 
from  His  first  preaching  till  His  death,  would  have 
lasted  but  about  six  weeks ;  and  according  to  what 
John  says,  it  would  have  lasted  at  least  three  years 
and  three  months,  because  it  appears  by  the  Gospel 
of  this  apostle,  that,  during  the  course  of  His  pub- 
lic life  He  might  have  been  three  or  four  times  at 
Jerusalem  at  the  Easter  feast  which  happened  but 
once  a  year. 

Now  if  it  is  true  that  He  had  been  there  three 
or  four  times  after  His  baptism,  as  John  testifies, 
it  is  false  that  He  lived  but  three  months  after  His 
baptism,  and  that  He  was  crucified  the  first  time 
He  went  to  Jerusalem. 

If  it  is  said  that  these  first  three  Evangelists 
really  mean  but  one  year,  but  that  they  do  not 
indicate  distinctly  the  others  which  elapsed  since 
His  baptism  ;  or  that  John  understood  that  there 
was  but  one  Easter,  although  he  speaks  of  several, 
and  that  he  only  anticipated  the  time  when  he 
repeatedly  tells  us  that  the  Easter  feast  of  the 
Jews  was  near  at  hand,  and  that  Jesus  went  to 
Jerusalem,  and,  consequently,  that  there  is  but  an 
apparent  contradiction  upon  this  subject  between 
the  Evangelists,  I  am  willing  to  accept  this  ;  but  it 
is  certain  that  this  apparent  contradiction  springs 
from  the  fact,  that  they  do  not  explain  themselves 
in  all  the  circumstances  that  are  noted  in  the  nar- 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  301 

ration  which  they  make.  Be  that  as  it  may,  there 
will  always  be  this  inference  made,  that  they  were 
not  inspired  by  God  when  they  wrote  their  biogra- 
phies of  Christ. 

Here  is  another  contradiction  in  regard  to  the 
first  thing  which  Jesus  Christ  did  immediately  after 
His  baptism  ;  for  the  first  three  Evangelists  state, 
that  He  was  transported  immediately  by  the  Spirit 
into  the  desert,  where  He  fasted  forty  days  and 
forty  nights,  and  where  He  was  several  times  tempt- 
ed by  the  Devil  ;  and,  according  to  what  John 
says,  He  departed  two  days  after  His  baptism  to 
go  into  Galilee,  where  He  performed  His  first  mir- 
acle by  changing  water  into  wine  at  the  wedding 
of  Cana,  where  He  found  Himself  three  days  after 
His  arrival  in  Galilee,  more  than  thirty  leagues 
from  the  place  in  which  He  had  been. 

In  regard  to  the  place  of  His  first  retreat  after 
His  departure  from  the  desert,  Matthew  says  that 
He  returned  to  Galilee,  and  that  leaving  the  city 
of  Nazareth,  He  went  to  live  at  Capernaum,  a 
maritime  city  ;  and  Luke  says,  that  He  came  at 
first  to  Nazareth,  and  afterward  went  to  Caper- 
naum. 

They  contradict  each  other  in  regard  to  the  time 
and  manner  in  which  the  apostles  followed  Him  ; 
for  the  first  three  say  that  Jesus,  passing  on  the 
shore  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  saw  Simon  and  Andrew 
his  brother,  and  that  He  saw  at  a  little  distance 
James  and  his  brother  John  with  their  father, 
Zebedee.  John,  on  the  contrary,  says  that  it  was 
Andrew,  brother  of  Simon  Peter,  who  first  followed 


302  Abstract  of  the 

Jesus  with  another  disciple  of  John  the  Baptist, 
having  seen  Him  pass  before  them,  when  they  were 
with  their  Master  on  the  shores  of  the  Jordan. 

In  regard  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  the  first  three 
Evangelists  note  that  Jesus  Christ  instituted  the 
Sacrament  of  His  body  and  His  blood,  in  the  form 
of  bread  and  wine,  the  same  as  our  Roman  Christ- 
worshipers  say ;  and  John  does  not  mention  this 
mysterious  sacrament.  John  says  that  after  this 
supper,  Jesus  washed  His  apostles'  feet,  and  com- 
manded them  to  do  the  same  thing  to  each  other, 
and  relates  a  long  discourse  which  He  delivered 
then.  But  the  other  Evangelists  do  not  speak 
of  the  washing  of  the  feet,  nor  of  the  long  discourse 
He  gave  them  then.  On  the  contrary,  they  testify 
that  immediately  after  this  supper.  He  went  with 
His  apostles  upon  the  Mount  of  Olives,  where  He 
gave  up  His  Spirit  to  sadness,  and  was  in  anguish 
while  His  apostles  slept,  at  a  short  distance.  They 
contradict  each  other  upon  the  day  on  which  they 
say  the  Lord's  Supper  took  place  ;  because  on  one 
side,  they  note  that  it  took  place  Easter-eve,  that 
is,  the  evening  of  the  first  day  of  Azymes,  or 
of  the  feast  of  unleavened  bread  ;  as  it  is  noted 
(i)  in  Exodus,  (2)  in  Leviticus,  and  (3)  in  Numbers; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  they  say  that  He  was 
crucified  the  day  following  the  Lord's  Supper, 
about  midday  after  the  Jews  had  His  trial  during 
the  whole  night  and  morning.  Now,  according  to 
what  they  say,  the  day  after  this  supper  took  place, 
ought  not  to  be  Easter-eve.  Therefore,  if  He  died 
on  the  eve  of  Easter,  toward  midday,  it  was  not 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  303 

on  the  eve  of  this  feast  that  this  supper  took  place. 
There  is  consequently  a  manifest  error. 

They  contradict  each  other,  also,  in  regard  to 
the  women  who  followed  Jesus  from  Galilee,  for 
the  first  three  Evangelists  say  that  these  women, 
and  those  who  knev/  Him,  among  whom  were  Mary 
Magdalene,  and  Mary,  mother  of  James  and  Jo- 
seph, and  the  mother  of  Zebedee's  children,  were 
looking  on  at  a  distance  when  He  was  hanged  and 
nailed  upon  the  cross.  John  says,  on  the  contrary, 
that  the  mother  of  Jesus  and  His  mother's  sister, 
and  Mary  Magdalene  were  standing  near  His  cross 
with  John,  His  apostle.  The  contradiction  is  mani- 
fest, for,  if  these  women  and  this  disciple  were  near 
Him,  they  were  not  at  a  distance,  as  the  others  say 
they  were. 

They  contradict  each  other  upon  the  pretended 
apparitions  which  they  relate  that  Jesus  made  after 
His  pretended  resurrection  ;  for  Matthew  speaks 
of  but  two  apparitions:  the  one  when  He  appeared 
to  Mary  Magdalene  and  to  another  woman,  also 
named  Mary,  and  when  He  appeared  to  His  eleven 
disciples  who  had  returned  to  Galilee  upon  the 
mountain  where  He  had  appointed  to  meet  them. 
Mark  speaks  of  three  apparitions  :  The  first,  when 
He  appeared  to  Mary  Magdalene ;  the  second, 
when  He  appeared  to  His  two  disciples,  who  went 
to  Emmaus  ;  and  the  third,  when  He  appeared  to 
His  eleven  disciples,  whom  He  reproaches  for  their 
incredulity,  Luke  speaks  of  but  two  apparitions 
the  same  as  Matthew  ;  and  John  the  Evangelist 
speaks   of  four   apparitions,  and  adds   to   Mark's 


304  Abstract  of  the 

three,  the  one  which  He  made  to  seven  or  eight 

of  His  disciples  who  were  fishing  upon  the  shores 
of  the  Tiberian  Sea. 

They  contradict  each  other,  also,  in  regard  to 
the  place  of  these  apparitions  ;  for  Matthew  says 
that  it  was  in  Galilee,  upon  a  mountain  ;  Mark 
says  that  it  was  when  they  were  at  table  ;  Luke 
says  that  He  brought  them  out  of  Jerusalem  as 
far  as  Bethany,  where  He  left  them  by  rising  to 
Heaven  ;  and  John  says  that  it  was  in  the  city  of 
Jerusalem,  in  a  house  of  which  they  had  closed  the 
doors,  and  another  time  upon  the  borders  of  the 
Tiberian  Sea. 

Thus  is  much  contradiction  in  the  report  of  these 
pretended  apparitions.  They  contradict  each  other 
in  regard  to  His  pretended  ascension  to  heaven ; 
for  Luke  and  Mark  say  positively  that  He  went  to 
heaven  in  presence  of  the  eleven  apostles,  but  nei- 
ther Matthew  nor  John  mentions  at  all  this  pre- 
tended ascension.  More  than  this,  Matthew  testi- 
fies sufficiently  that  He  did  not  ascend  to  heaven  ; 
for  he  said  positively  that  Jesus  Christ  assured  His 
apostles  that  He  would  be  and  remain  always  with 
them  until  the  end  of  the  world.  "  Go  ye,"  He  said 
to  them,  in  this  pretended  apparition,  "  and  teach 
all  nations,  and  be  assured  that  I  am  with  you  al- 
ways, even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."  Luke  con- 
tradicts himself  upon  the  subject ;  for  in  his  Gospel 
he  says  that  it  was  in  Bethany  where  He  ascended 
to  heaven  in  the  presence  of  His  apostles,  and  in 
his  Acts  of  the  Apostles  (supposing  him  to  have 
been  the  author)  he   says   that  it  was  upon  the 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  305 

Mount  of  Olives.  He  contradicts  himself  again 
about  this  ascension ;  for  he  notes  in  his  Gospel 
that  it  was  the  very  day  of  His  resurrection,  or  the 
first  night  following,  that  He  ascended  to  heaven ; 
and  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  he  says  that  it  was 
forty  days  after  His  resurrection ;  this  certainly 
does  not  correspond.  If  all  the  apostles  had  really 
seen  their  Master  gloriously  rise  to  heaven,  how 
could  it  be  possible  that  Matthew  and  John,  who 
would  have  seen  it  as  well  as  the  others,  passed  in 
silence  such  a  gktrious  mystery,  and  which  was  so 
advantageous  to  their  Master,  considering  that  they 
relate  many  other  circumstances  of  His  life  and  of 
His  actions  which  are  much  less  important  than 
this  one  ?  How  is  it  that  Matthew  does  not  mention 
this  ascension  ?  And  why  does  Christ  not  explain 
clearly  how  He  would  live  with  them  always,  al- 
though He  left  them  visibly  to  ascend  to  heaven  ? 
It  is  not  easy  to  comprehend  by  what  secret  He 
could  live  with  those  whom  He  left. 

I  pass  in  silence  many  other  contradictions ;  what 
I  have  said  is  sufficient  to  show  that  these  books 
are  not  of  Divine  Inspiration,  nor  even  of  human 
wisdom,  and,  consequently,  do  not  deserve  that  we 
should  put  any  faith  in  them. 

II. — OF   MIRACLES. 

But  by  what  privilege  do  these  four  Gospels,  and 
some  other  similar  books,  pass  for  Holy  and  Divine 
more  than  several  others,  which  bear  no  less  the 
title  of  Gospels,  and  which  have  been  published 
under  the  name  of  some  other  apostles  ?     If  it  is 


3o6  Abstract  of  the 

said  that  the  reputed  Gospels  are  falsely  attributed 
to  the  apostles,  we  can  say  the  same  of  the  first 
ones ;  if  we  suppose  the  first  ones  to  be  falsified 
and  changed,  we  can  think  the  same  of  the  others. 
Thus  there  is  no  positive  proof  to  make  us  discern 
the  one  from  the  other;  in  spite  of  the  Church, 
which  assumes  to  decide  the  matter,  it  is  not 
credible. 

In  regard  to  the  pretended  miracles  related  in 
the  Old  Testament,  they  could  have  been  performed 
but  to  indicate  on  the  part  of  God  an  unjust  and 
odious  discrimination  between  nations  and  between 
individuals ;  purposely  injuring  the  one  in  order  to 
especially  favor  the  other.  The  vocation  and  the 
choice  which  God  made  of  the  Patriarchs,  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  order  to  make  for  Himself  of 
their  posterity  a  people  which  He  would  sanctify 
and  bless  above  all  other  peoples  of  the  earth,  is  a 
proof  of  it.  But  it  will  be  said  God  is  the  absolute 
master  of  His  favors  and  of  His  benefits ;  He  can 
grant  them  to  whomsoever  He  pleases,  without 
any  one  having  the  right  to  complain  or  to  accuse 
Him  of  injustice.  This  reason  is  useless  ;  for  God, 
the  Author  of  nature,  the  Father  of  all  men,  ought 
to  love  them  all  alike  as  His  own  work,  and,  conse- 
quently, He  ought  to  be  equally  their  protector 
and  their  benefactor;  giving  them  life,  He  ought 
to  give  all  that  is  necessary  for  the  well-being  of 
His  creatures. 

If  all  these  pretended  miracles  of  the  Old  and  of 
the  New  Testament  were  true,  we  could  say  that 
God  would  have  had  more  care  in  providing  for  the 


Testament  of  John  Mcslier.  307 

least  good  of  men  than  for  their  greatest  and  prin- 
cipal good  ;  that  He  would  have  punished  more 
severely  trifling  faults  in  certain  persons  than  He 
would  have  punished  great  crimes  in  others  ;  and, 
finally,  that  He  would  not  have  desired  to  show 
Himself  as  beneficent  in  the  most  pressing  needs  as 
in  the  least.  This  is  easy  enough  to  show  as  much 
by  the  miracles  which  it  is  pretended  that  He  per- 
formed, as  by  those  which  He  did  not  perform, 
and  which  He  would  have  performed  rather  than 
any  other,  if  it  is  true  that  He  performed  any  at 
all.  For  example,  it  is  claimed  that  God  had  the 
kindness  to  send  an  angel  to  console  and  to  assist  a 
simple  maid,  while  He  left,  and  still  leaves  every 
day,  a  countless  number  of  innocents  to  languish 
and  starve  to  death ;  it  is  claimed  that  He  miracu- 
lously preserved  during  forty  years  the  clothes  and 
the  shoes  of  a  few  people,  while  He  will  not  watch 
over  the  natural  preservation  of  the  vast  quantities 
of  goods  which  are  useful  and  necessary  for  the 
subsistence  of  great  nations,  and  that  are  lost  every 
day  by  different  accidents.  It  is  claimed  that  He 
sent  to  the  first  beings  of  the  human  race,  Adam 
and  Eve,  a  devil,  or  a  simple  serpent,  to  seduce 
them,  and  by  this  means  ruin  all  men.  This  is  not 
credible!  It  is  claimed,  that  by  a  special  provi- 
dence. He  prevented  the  King  of  Gerais,  a  Pagan, 
from  committing  sin  with  a  strange  woman,  al- 
though there  would  be  no  results  to  follow ;  and 
yet  He  did  not  prevent  Adam  and  Eve  from  offend- 
ing Him  and  falling  into  the  sin  of  disobedience — 
a  sin  which,  according   to   our  Christ-worshipers, 


3o8  Abstract  of  the 

was  to  be  fatal,  and  cause  the  destruction  of  the 
human  race.     This  is  not  credible  ! 

Let  us  come  to  the  pretended  miracles  of  the 
New  Testament.  They  consist,  as  is  pretended, 
in  this :  that  Jesus  Christ  and  His  apostles  cured, 
through  the  Deity,  all  kinds  of  diseases  and  infirm- 
ities, giving  sight  to  the  blind,  hearing  to  the  deaf, 
speech  to  the  dumb,  making  the  lame  to  walk, 
curing  the  paralytics,  driving  the  devils  from  those 
who  were  possessed,  and  bringing  the  dead  to  life. 

We  find  several  of  these  miracles  in  the  Gospels, 
but  we  see  a  good  many  more  of  them  in  the  books 
that  our  Christ-worshipers  have  written  of  the  ad- 
mirable lives  of  their  saints  ;  for  in  these  lives  we 
nearly  everywhere  read  that  these  pretended  blessed 
ones  cured  diseases  and  infirmities,  expelled  the 
devils  wherever  they  encountered  them,  solely  in 
the  name  of  Jesus  or  by  the  sign  of  the  cross ;  that 
they  controlled  the  elements  ;  that  God  favored 
them  so  much  that  He  even  preserved  to  them  His 
Divine  power  after  their  death,  and  that  this  Di- 
vine power  could  be  communicated  even  to  the 
least  of  their  clothing,  even  to  their  shadows,  and 
even  to  the  infamous  instruments  of  their  death. 
It  is  said  that  the  shoe  of  St.  Honorius  raised  a 
dead  man  on  the  sixth  of  January  ;  that  the  staff 
of  St.  Peter,  that  of  St.  James,  and  that  of  St. 
Bernard  performed  miracles.  The  same  is  said  of 
the  cord  of  St.  Francis,,  of  the  staff  of  St.  John  of 
God,  and  of  the  girdle  of  St.  Melanie.  It  is  said 
that  St.  Gracilien  was  divinely  instructed  as  to  what 
he  ought  to  believe  and  to  teach,  and  that  he,  by 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  309 

the  influence  of  his  prayer,  removed  a  mountain 
which  prevented  him  from  building  a  church  ;  that 
from  the  sepulchre  of  St.  Andrew  flowed  inces- 
santly a  liquor  which  cured  all  sorts  of  diseases  ; 
that  the  soul  of  St.  Benedict  was  seen  ascending 
to  Heaven  clothed  with  a  precious  cloak  and  sur- 
rounded by  burning  lamps  ;  that  St.  Dominic  said 
that  God  never  refused  him  anything  he  asked  ; 
that  St.  Francis  commanded  the  swallows,  swans, 
and  other  birds  to  obey  him,  and  that  often  the 
fishes,  rabbits,  and  the  hares  came  and  placed  them- 
selves on  his  hands  and  on  his  lap  ;  that  St.  Paul 
and  St.  Pantaleon,  having  been  beheaded,  there 
flowed  milk  instead  of  blood  ;  that  the  blessed 
Peter  of  Luxembourg,  in  the  first  two  years  after 
his  death  (1388  and  1389),  performed  two  thousand 
four  hundred  miracles,  among  which  forty-two  dead 
were  brought  to  life,  not  including  more  than  three 
thousand  other  miracles  which  he  has  performed 
since;  that  the  fifty  philosophers  whom  St.  Cath- 
erine converted,  having  all  been  thrown  into  a  great 
fire,  their  whole  bodies  were  afterward  found  and 
not  a  single  hair  was  scorched  ;  that  the  body  of 
St.  Catherine  was  carried  off  by  angels  after  her 
death,  and  buried  by  them  upon  Mount  Sinai ; 
that  the  day  of  the  canonization  of  St.  Antoine  de 
Padua,  all  the  bells  of  the  city  of  Lisbon  rang  of 
themselves,  without  any  one  knowing  how  it  was 
done  ;  that  this  saint  being  once  near  the  sea-shore, 
and  calling  the  fishes,  they  came  to  him  in  a  jreat 
multitude,  and  raised  their  heads  out  of  the  water 
and  listened  to  him  attentively.     We  should  never 


3IO  Abstract  of  the 

come  to  an  end  if  we  had  to  report  all  this  idle 
talk ;  there  is  no  subject,  however  vain,  frivolous, 
and  even  ridiculous,  on  which  the  authors  of  these 
"  Lives  of  the  Saints  "  do  not  take  pleasure  in 
heaping  miracles  upon  miracles,  for  they  are  skill- 
ful in  forging  absurd  falsehoods. 

It  is  certainly  not  without  reason  that  we  con- 
sider these  things  as  lies  ;  for  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
all  these  pretended  miracles  have  been  invented 
but  by  imitating  the  fables  of  the  Pagan  poets. 
This  is  sufficiently  obvious  by  the  resemblance 
which  they  bear  one  to  another. 

III. — SIMILARITY     BETWEEN    ANCIENT    AND    MOD- 
ERN  MIRACLES. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  claim  that  God  endowed 
their  saints  with  power  to  perform  the  miracles  re- 
lated in  their  lives,  some  of  the  Pagans  claim  also 
that  the  daughters  of  Anius,  high- priest  of  Apollo, 
had  really  received  from  the  god  Bacchus  the  power 
to  change  all  they  desired  into  wheat,  into  wine,  or 
into  oil,  etc.  ;  that  Jupiter  gave  to  the  nymphs  who 
took  care  of  his  education,  a  horn  of  the  goat 
which  nursed  him  in  his  infancy,  with  this  virtue, 
that  it  could  give  them  an  abundance  of  all  they 
wished  for. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  assert  that  their  saints 
had  the  power  of  raising  the  dead,  and  that  they 
had  Divine  revelations,  the  Pagans  had  said  before 
them  that  Athalide,  son  of  Mercury,  had  obtained 
from  his  father  the  gift  of  living,  dying,  and  com- 
ing to  life  whenever  he  wished,  and  that  he  had 


Testament  of  John  Me  slier.  311 

abo  the  knowledge  of  all  that  transpired  in  this 
world  as  well  as  in  the  other ;  and  that  Esculapius, 
son  of  Apollo,  had  raised  the  dead,  and,  among 
others,  he  brought  to  life  Hyppolites,  son  of  The- 
seus, by  Diana's  request  ;  and  that  Hercules,  also, 
raised  from  the  dead  Alceste,  wife  of  Admetus, 
King  of  Thessalia,  to  return  her  to  her  husband. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  say  that  Christ  was  mi- 
raculously born  of  a  virgin,  the  Pagans  had  said 
before  them  that  Remus  and  Romulus,  the  found- 
ers of  Rome,  were  miraculously  born  of  a  vestal 
virgin  named  Ilia,  or  Silvia,  or  Rhea  Silvia  ;  they 
had  already  said  that  Mars,  Argus,  Vulcan,  and 
others  were  born  of  the  goddess  Juno  without 
sexual  union  ;  and,  also,  that  Minerva,  goddess  of 
the  sciences,  sprang  from  Jupiter's  brain,  and  that 
she  came  out  of  it,  all  armed,  by  means  of  a  blow 
which  this  god  gave  to  his  own  head. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  claim  that  their  saints 
made  water  gush  from  rocks,  the  Pagans  pretend 
also  that  Minerva  made  a  fountain  of  oil  spring 
forth  from  a  rock  as  a  recompense  for  a  temple 
which  had  been  dedicated  to  her. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  boast  of  having  received 
images  from  Heaven  miraculously,  as,  for  example, 
those  of  Notre-Dam.e  de  Loretto,  and  of  Liesse  and 
several  other  gifts  from  Heaven,  as  the  pretended 
Holy  Vial  of  Rheims,  as  the  white  Chasuble  which 
St.  Ildefonse  received  from  the  Virgin  Mary,  and 
other  similar  things :  the  Pagans  boasted  before 
them  of  having  received  a  sacred  shield  as  a  mark 
of  the  preservation  of  their  city  of  Rome,  and  the 


312  Abstract  of  tke 

Trojans  boasted  before  them  of  having  received 
miraculously  from  Heaven  their  Palladium,  or  their 
Idol  of  Pallas,  which  came,  they  said,  to  takes  its 
place  in  the  temple  which  they  had  erected  in 
honor  of  this  Goddess. 

If  our  Christ  -  worshipers  pretend  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  seen  by  His  apostles  ascending  to 
Heaven,  and  that  several  of  their  pretended  saints 
were  transported  to  Heaven  by  angels,  the  Roman 
Pagans  had  said  before  them,  that  Romulus,  their 
founder,  was  seen  after  his  death ;  that  Ganymede, 
son  of  Troas,  king  of  Troy,  was  transported  to 
Heaven  by  Jupiter  to  serve  him  as  cup-bearer 
that  the  hair  of  Berenice,  being  consecrated  to  the 
temple  of  Venus, was  afterward  carried  to  Heaven; 
they  say  the  same  thing  of  Cassiope  and  Andro- 
medes,  and  even  of  the  ass  of  Silenus. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  pretend  that  several  of 
their  saints"  bodies  were  miraculously  saved  from 
decomposition  after  death,  and  that  they  were  found 
by  Divine  Revelations,  after  having  been  lost  for  a 
long  time,  the  Pagans  say  the  same  of  the  body  of 
Orestes,  which  they  pretend  to  have  found  through 
an  oracle,  etc. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  say  that  the  seven  sleep- 
ing brothers  slept  during  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
seven  years,  while  they  were  shut  up  in  a  cave,  the 
Pagans  claim  that  Epimenides,  the  philosopher, 
slept  during  fifty-seven  years  in  a  cave  where  he 
fell  asleep. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  claim  that  several  of  their 
saints  continued  to  speak  after  losing  the  head,  or 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  313 

having  the  tongue  cut  out,  the  Pagans  claim  that 
the  head  of  Gambienus  recited  a  long  poem  after 
separation  from  his  body. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  glorify  themselves  that 
their  temples  and  churches  are  ornamented  with 
several  pictures  and  rich  gifts  which  show  miracu- 
lous cures  performed  by  the  intercession  of  their 
saints,  we  also  see,  or  at  least  we  formerly  saw  in 
the  temple  of  Esculapius  at  Epidaurus,  many  paint- 
ings of  miraculous  cures  which  he  had  performed. 

If  our  Christ-worshipers  claim  that  several  of 
their  saints  have  been  miraculously  preserved  in 
the  flames  without  having  received  any  injury  to 
their  bodies  or  their  clothing,  the  Pagans  claim 
that  the  Holy  women  of  the  temple  of  Diana  walk- 
ed upon  burning  coals  barefooted  without  burning 
or  hurting  their  feet,  and  that  the  priests  of  the 
Goddess  Feronie  and  of  Hirpicus  walked  in  the 
same  way  upon  burning  coals  in  the  fires  which 
were  made  in  honor  of  Apollo. 

If  the  angels  built  a  chapel  for  St.  Clement  at 
the  bottom  of  the  sea,  the  little  house  of  Baucis 
and  of  Philemon  was  miraculously  changed  into  a 
superb  temple  as  a  reward  of  their  piety.  If  sev- 
eral of  their  saints,  as  St.  James  and  St.  Maurice, 
appeared  several  times  in  their  armies,  mounted 
and  equipped  in  ancient  style,  and  fought  for  them, 
Castor  and  Pollux  appeared  several  times  in  battles 
and  fought  for  the  Romans  against  their  enemies ; 
if  a  ram  was  miraculously  found  '  o  be  offered  as  a 
sacrifice  in  the  place  of  Isaac,  whom  his  father 
Abraham    was    about    to    sacrifice,    the    Goddess 


314  Abstract  of  the 

Vesta  also  sent  a  heifer  to  be  sacrificed  in  the 
place  of  Metella,  daughter  of  Metellus :  the  God- 
dess Diana  sent  a  hind  in  the  place  of  Iphigenie 
when  she  was  at  the  stake  to  be  sacrificed  to  her, 
and  by  this  means  Iphigenie  was  saved. 

If  St.  Joseph  went  into  Egypt  by  the  warning  of 
an  angel,  Simonides,  the  poet,  avoided  several  great 
dangers  by  miraculous  warnings  which  had  been 
given  to  him. 

If  Moses  forced  a  stream  of  water  to  flow  from  a 
rock  by  striking  it  with  his  staff,  the  horse  Pega- 
sus did  the  same :  by  striking  a  rock  with  his  foot 
a  fountain  issued. 

If  St.  Vincent  Ferrier  brought  to  life  a  dead  man 
hacked  into  pieces,  whose  body  was  already  half 
roasted  and  half  broiled,  Pelops,  son  of  Tantalus 
king  of  Phrygia,  having  been  torn  to  pieces  by  his 
father  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  Gods,  they  gathered 
all  the  pieces,  joined  them,  and  brought  them  to 
life. 

If  several  crucifixes  and  other  images  have  mi- 
raculously spoken  and  answered,  the  Pagans  say 
that  tlhir  oracles  have  spoken  and  given  answers 
to  those  who  consulted  them,  and  that  the  head  of 
Orpheus  and  that  of  Policrates  gave  oracles  after 
their  death. 

If  God  revealed  by  a  voice  from  Heaven  that  Je- 
sus Christ  was  His  Son,  as  the  Evangelists  say, 
Vulcan  showed  by  the  apparition  of  a  miraculous 
flame,  that  Coeculus  was  really  his  son. 

If  God  has  miraculously  nourished  some  of  His 
saints,  the  Pagan  poets  pretend  that  Triptolemus 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  315 

was  miraculously  nourished  with  Divine  milk  by 
Ceres,  who  gave  him  also  a  chariot  drawn  by  two 
dragons,  and  that  Phineus,  son  of  Mars,  being  born 
after  his  mother's  death,  was  nevertheless  miracu- 
lously nourished  by  her  milk. 

If  several  saints  miraculously  tamed  the  ferocity 
of  the  most  cruel  beasts,  it  is  said  that  Orpheus  at- 
tracted to  him,  by  the  sweetness  of  his  voice  and  by 
the  harmony  of  his  instruments,  lions,  bears,  and 
tigers,  and  softened  the  ferocity  of  their  nature; 
that  he  attracted  rocks  and  trees,  and  that  even  the 
rivers  stopped  their  course  to  listen  to  his  song. 

Finally,  to  abbreviate,  because  we  could  report 
many  others,  if  our  Christ-worshipers  pretend  that 
the  walls  of  the  city  of  Jericho  fell  by  the  sound  of 
their  trumpets,  the  Pagans  say  that  the  walls  of  th<» 
city  of  Thebes  were  built  by  the  sound  of  the  mu 
sical  instruments  of  Amphion ;  the  stones,  as  the 
poets  say,  arranging  themselves  to  the  sweetness  of 
his  harmony  ;  this  would  be  much  more  miraculous 
and  more  admirable  than  to  see  the  walls  demolished. 

There  is  certainly  a  great  similarity  between  the 
Pagan  miracles  and  our  own.  As  it  would  be  great 
folly  to  give  credence  to  these  pretended  miracles 
of  Paganism,  it  is  not  any  the  less  so  to  have  faith 
in  those  of  Christianity,  because  they  all  come  from 
the  same  source  of  error.  It  was  for  this  that  the 
Manicheans  and  the  Arians,  who  existed  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  Era,  derided  these 
pretended  miracles  performed  by  the  invocation  of 
saints,  and  blamed  those  who  invoked  them  after 
death  and  honored  their  relics. 


3i6  Abstract  of  the 

Let  us  return  at  present  to  the  principal  end 
which  God  proposed  to  Himself,  in  sending  His 
Son  into  the  world  to  become  man  ;  it  must  have 
been,  as  they  say,  to  redeem  the  world  from  sin  and 
to  destroy  entirely  the  works  of  the  pretended  Devil, 
etc.  This  is  what  our  Christ-worshipers  claim  also, 
that  Jesus  Christ  died  for  them  according  to  His 
Father's  intention,  which  is  plainly  stated  in  all  the 
pretended  Holy  Books.  What  !  an  Almighty  God, 
who  was  willing  to  become  a  mortal  man  for  the 
love  of  men,  and  to  shed  His  blood  to  the  last 
drop,  to  save  them  all,  would  yet  have  limited  His 
power  to  only  curing  a  few  diseases  and  physical 
infirmities  of  a  few  individuals  who  were  brought  to 
Him  ;  and  would  not  have  employed  His  Divine 
goodness  in  curing  the  infirmities  of  the  soul !  that 
is  to  say,  in  curing  all  men  of  their  vices  and  theil 
depravities,  which  are  worse  than  the  diseases  of 
their  bodies  !  This  is  not  credible.  What  !  such  a 
good  God  would  desire  to  preserve  dead  corpses 
from  decay  and  corruption  ;  and  would  not  keep 
from  the  contagion  and  corruption  of  vice  and  sin 
the  souls  of  a  countless  number  of  persons  whom 
He  sought  to  redeem  at  the  price  of  His  blood, 
and  to  sanctify  by  His  grace  !  What  a  pitiful  con- 
tradiction ! 


rV. — OF  THE   FALSITY   OF  THE   CHRISTIAN 
RELIGION. 

Let  us  proceed  to   the   pretended  visions  and 
Divine  Revelations,   upon  which  our  Christ-wor- 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  317 

shipers  establish  the  truth  and  the  certainty  of 
their  religion. 

In  order  to  give  a  just  idea  of  it,  I  believe  it  is 
best  to  say  in  general,  that  they  are  such,  that  if 
any  one  should  dare  now  to  boast  of  similar  ones, 
or  wish  to  make  them  valued,  he  would  certainly 
be  regarded  as  a  fool  or  a  fanatic. 

Here  is  what  the  pretended  Visions  and  Divine 
Revelations  are  : 

God,  as  these  pretended  Holy  Books  claim,  hav- 
ing appeared  for  the  first  time  to  Abraham,  said  to 
him  :  "  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy 
kindred  and  from  thy  father's  house,  into  a  land 
that  I  will  show  thee."  Abraham,  having  gone 
there,  God,  says  the  Bible,  appeared  the  second 
time  to  him,  and  said,  "  Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give 
this  land,"  and  there  builded  he  an  altar  unto  the 
Lord,  who  appeared  unto  him.  After  the  death 
of  Isaac,  his  son,  Jacob  going  one  day  to  Mesopo- 
tamia to  look  for  a  wife  that  would  suit  him,  having 
walked  all  the  day,  and  being  tired  from  the  long 
distance,  desired  to  rest  toward  evening ;  lying 
upon  the  ground,  with  his  head  resting  upon  a  few 
stones,  he  fell  asleep,  and  during  his  sleep  he  saw  a 
ladder  set  upon  the  earth,  and  the  top  of  it  reached 
to  Heaven  ;  and  beheld  the  angels  of  God  ascending 
and  descending  on  it.  And  behold,  the  Lord  stood 
above  it,  and  said  :  "  I  am  the  Lord,  God  of  Abra- 
ham thy  father,  and  the  God  of  Isaac ;  the  land 
whereon  thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to 
thy  seed.  And  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the  dust  of  the 
earth,  and  thou  shalt  spread  abroad  to  the  west 


3i8  Abstract  of  the 

and  to  the  east,  and  to  the  north  and  to  the  south ; 
and  in  thee  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth  be  blessed.  And  behold,  I  am  with  thee 
and  will  keep  thee  in  all  places  whither  thou  goest, 
and  will  bring  thee  again  into  this  land  :  for  I  will 
not  leave  thee  until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have 
spoken  to  thee  of."  And  Jacob  awaked  out  of  his 
sleep,  and  he  said  :  "  Surely  the  Lord  is  in  this 
place,  and  I  knew  it  not."  And  he  was  afraid,  and 
said  :  "  How  dreadful  is  this  place  !  this  is  none 
other  than  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate 
of  Heaven."  And  Jacob  rose  up  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  took  the  stone  that  he  had  put  for  his 
pillow,  and  set  it  up  for  a  pillar,  and  poured  oil 
<ipon  the  top  of  it,  and  made  at  the  same  time  a 
/ow  to  God,  that  if  he  should  return  safe  and 
«ound,  he  would  give  Him  a  tithe  of  all  he  might 
possess. 

Here  is  yet  another  vision.  Watching  the  flocks 
of  his  father-in-law,  Laban,  who  had  promised  him 
that  all  the  speckled  lambs  produced  by  his  sheep 
should  be  his  recompense,  he  dreamed  one  night 
that  he  saw  all  the  males  leap  upon  the  females, 
and  all  the  lambs  they  brought  forth  were  speckled. 
In  this  beautiful  dream,  God  appeared  to  him,  and 
said  :  "  Lift  up  now  thine  eyes  and  see  that  the 
rams  which  leap  upon  the  cattle  are  ring-streaked, 
speckled,  and  grizzled  ;  for  I  have  seen  all  that 
Laban  does  unto  thee.  Now  arise,  get  thee  out 
from  this  land,  and  return  unto  the  land  of  thy 
kindred."  As  he  was  returning  with  his  whole 
family,  and  with  all  he  obtained  from  his  father- 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  319 

in-law,  he  had,  says  the  Bible,  a  wrestle  with 
an  unknown  man  during  the  whole  night,  until 
the  breaking  of  the  day,  and  as  this  man  had  not 
oeen  able  to  subdue  him,  He  asked  him  who  he 
was.  Jacob  told  Him  his  name  ;  and  He  said  : 
"  Thy  name  shall  be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Is- 
rael ;  for  as  a  prince  hast  thou  power  with  God  and 
with  men,  and  hast  prevailed." 

This  is  a  specimen  of  the  first  of  these  pretended 
Visions  and  Divine  Revelations.  We  can  judge 
of  the  others  by  these.  Now,  what  appearance  of 
Divinity  is  there  in  dreams  so  gross  and  illusions 
so  vain  ?  As  if  some  foreigners,  Germans,  for  in- 
stance, should  come  into  our  France,  and,  after 
seeing  all  the  beautiful  provinces  of  our  kingdom, 
should  claim  that  God  had  appeared  to  them  in 
their  country,  that  He  had  told  them  to  go  into 
France,  and  that  He  would  give  to  them  and  to 
their  posterity  all  the  beautiful  lands,  domains,  and 
provinces  of  this  kingdom  which  extend  from  the 
rivers  Rhine  and  Rhone,  even  to  the  sea  ;  that  He 
would  make  an  everlasting  alliance  with  them,  that 
He  would  multiply  their  race,  that  He  would  make 
their  posterity  as  numerous  as  the  stars  of  Heaven 
and  as  the  sands  of  the  sea,  etc.,  who  would  not 
laugh  at  such  folly,  and  consider  these  strangers  as 
insane  fools ! 

Now  there  is  no  reason  to  think  otherwise  of 
all  that  has  been  said  by  these  pretended  Holy 
Patriarchs,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  in  regard 
to  the  Divine  Revelations  which  they  claim  to 
have  had.     As  to  the  institution  of  bloody  sacri- 


320  Abstract  of  the 

fices,  the  Holy  Scriptures  attribute  it  to  God.  As 
it  would  be  too  wearisome  to  go  into  the  disgust- 
ing details  of  this  kind  of  sacrifices,  I  refer  the 
reader  to  Exodus.* 

Were  not  men  insane  and  blind  to  believe  they 
were  honoring  God  by  tearing  into  pieces,  butcher- 
ing, and  burning  His  own  creatures,  under  the  pre- 
text of  offering  them  as  sacrifices  to  Him  ?  And  even 
now,  how  is  it  that  our  Christ-worshipers  are  so 
extravagant  as  to  expect  to  please  God  the  Father, 
by  offering  up  to  Him  the  sacrifice  of  His  Divine 
Son,  in  remembrance  of  His  being  shamefully 
nailed  to  a  cross  upon  which  He  died  ?  Certainly 
this  can  spring  only  from  an  obstinate  blindness  of 
mind. 

In  regard  to  the  detail  of  the  sacrifices  of  ani- 
mals, it  consists  but  in  colored  clothing,  blood, 
plucks,  livers,  birds'  crops,  kidneys,  claws,  skins,  in 
the  dung,  smoke,  cakes,  certain  measures  of  oil  and 
wine,  the  whole  being  offered  and  infected  by  dirty 
ceremonies  as  filthy  and  contemptible  as  the  most 
extravagant  performances  of  magic.  What  is  most 
horrible  of  all  this  is,  that  the  law  of  this  detesta- 
ble Jewish  people  commanded  that  even  men 
should  be  offered  up  as  sacrifices.  The  barbarians, 
whoever  they  were,  who  introduced  this  horrible 
law,  commanded  to  put  to  death  any  man  who  had 
been  consecrated  to  the  God  of  the  Jews,  whom 
they  called  Adonai :  and  it  is  according  to  this 
execrable    precept   that    Jephthah    sacrificed    his 


♦See  chapters  xxv.,  xxvii.,  xxriii.,  and  xxix. 


Testament  of  John  Meslier,  321 

daughter,  and  that  Saul  wanted  to  sacrifice   his 
son. 

But  here  is  yet  another  proof  of  the  falsity  of 
these  revelations  of  which  we  have  spoken.  It  is 
the  lack  of  the  fulfillment  of  the  great  and  magnifi- 
cent promises  by  which  they  were  accompanied,  for 
it  is  evident  that  these  promises  never  have  been 
fulfilled. 

The  proof  of  this  consists  in  three  principal 
points : 

Firstly.  Their  posterity  was  to  be  more  numer- 
ous than  all  the  other  nations  of  the  world. 

Secondly.  The  people  who  should  spring  from 
their  race  were  to  be  the  happiest,  the  holiest, 
and  the  most  victorious  of  all  the  people  of  the 
earth. 

Thirdly.  His  covenant  was  to  be  everlasting,  and 
they  should  possess  forever  the  country  He  should 
give  them.  Now  it  is  plain  that  these  promise* 
never  were  fulfilled. 

Firstly.  It  is  certain  that  the  Jewish  people,  or 
the  people  of  Israel — which  is  the  only  one  that  can 
be  regarded  as  having  descended  from  the  Patri- 
archs Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  the  only  ones 
to  whom  these  promises  should  have  been  fulfilled — 
have  never  been  so  numerous  that  it  could  be  com- 
pared with  the  other  nations  of  the  earth,  much 
less  with  the  sands  of  the  sea,  etc.,  for  we  see  that 
in  the  very  time  when  it  was  the  most  numerous 
and  the  most  flourishing,  it  never  occupied  more 
than  the  little  sterile  provinces  of  Palestine  and  its 
environs,  which  are  almost  nothing  in  comparison 


522  Abstract  of  the 

with  the  vast  extent  of  a  multitude  of  flourishing 
kingdoms  which  are  on  all  sides  of  the  earth. 

Secoyidly.  They  have  never  been  fulfilled  concern- 
ing the  great  blessings  with  which  they  were  to  be 
favored  ;  for,  although  they  won  a  few  small  vic- 
tories over  some  poor  nations  whom  they  plun- 
dered, this  did  not  prevent  them  from  being  con- 
quered and  reduced  to  servitude  ;  their  kingdom 
destroyed  as  well  as  their  nation,  by  the  Roman 
army ;  and  even  now  the  remainder  of  this  unfor- 
tunate nation  is  looked  upon  as  the  vilest  and  most 
contemptible  of  all  the  earth,  having  no  country, 
no  dominion,  no  superiority. 

Finally,  these  promises  have  not  been  fulfilled  in 
respect  to  this  everlasting  covenant,  which  God 
ought  to  have  fulfilled  to  them  ;  because  we  do  not 
see  now,  and  we  have  never  seen,  any  evidence  of 
this  covenant ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  they  have 
been  for  many  centuries  excluded  from  the  posses- 
sion of  the  small  country  they  pretended  God  had 
promised  that  they  should  enjoy  forever.  Thus, 
since  these  pretended  promises  were  never  fulfilled, 
it  is  certain  evidence  of  their  falsity ;  which  proves, 
plainly,  that  these  pretended  Holy  Books  which 
contain  them  were  not  of  Divine  inspiration. 
Therefore  it  is  useless  for  our  Christ-worshipers 
to  pretend  to  make  use  of  them  as  infallible  testi- 
mony to  prove  the  truth  of  their  religion. 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  323 

THE   HOLY   SCRIPTURES, 
v.— (l)    OF    THE   OLD    TESTAMENT. 

Our  Christ-worshipers  add  to  their  reasons  fof 
credulity  and  to  the  proofs  of  the  truth  of  their 
testimony,  the  prophecies  which  are,  as  they  pre- 
tend, sure  evidences  of  the  truth  of  the  revelations 
or  inspirations  of  God,  there  being  no  one  but  God 
who  could  predict  future  events  so  long  before  they 
came  to  pass,  as  those  which  have  been  predicted 
by  the  prophets. 

Let  us  see,  then,  who  these  pretended  prophets 
are,  and  if  we  ought  to  consider  them  as  important 
as  our  Christ-worshipers  pretend  they  are.  These 
men  were  but  visionaries  and  fanatics,  who  acted 
and  spoke  according  to  the  impulsions  of  their 
ruling  passions,  and  who  imagined  that  it  was  the 
Spirit  of  God  by  which  they  spoke  and  acted  ;  or 
they  were  impostors  who  feigned  to  be  prophets, 
and  who,  in  order  to  more  easily  deceive  the  igno- 
rant and  simple-minded,  boasted  of  acting  and 
speaking  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  I  would  like  to 
know  how  an  Ezekiel  would  be  received  who 
should  say  that  God  made  him  eat  for  his  break- 
fast a  roll  of  parchment  ;  commanded  him  to  be 
tied  like  an  insane  man,  and  lie  three  hundred  and 
ninety  days  upon  his  right  side,  and  forty  days 
upon  his  left,  and  commanded  him  to  eat  man's 
dung  upon  his  bread,  and  afterward,  as  an  accom- 
modation, cow's  dung?  I  ask  how  such  a  filthy 
statement  would  be  received  by  the  most  stupid 
people  of  our  provinces  ? 


324  Abstract  of  the 

What  can  be  yet  a  greater  proof  of  the  falsity 
of  these  pretended  prophecies,  than  the  violence 
with  which  these  prophets  reproach  each  other  foi 
speaking  falsely  in  the  name  of  God,  reproaches 
which  they  claim  to  make  in  behalf  of  God.  All 
of  them  say,  "  Beware  of  the  false  prophets !  "  as 
the  quacks  say,  "  Beware  of  the  counterfeit  pills ! '' 
How  could  these  insane  impostors  tell  the  future  ? 
No  prophecy  in  favor  of  their  Jewish  nation  was 
ever  fulfilled.  The  number  of  prophecies  which 
predict  the  prosperity  and  the  greatness  of  Jerusa- 
lem is  almost  innumerable  ;  in  explanation  of  this, 
it  will  be  said  that  it  is  very  natural  that  a  subdued 
and  captive  people  should  comfort  themselves  in 
their  real  afflictions  by  imaginary  hopes — as  a  year 
after  King  James  was  deposed,  the  Irish  people  of 
his  party  forged  several  prophecies  in  regard  to  him. 
But  if  these  promises  made  to  the  Jews  had  been 
really  true,  the  Jewish  nation  long  ago  would  have 
been,  and  would  still  be,  the  most  numerous,  the 
most  powerful,  the  most  blessed,  and  the  most  vic- 
torious of  all  nations. 

VI. — (2)   THE   NEW   TESTAMENT. 

Let  us  examine  the  pretended  prophecies  which 
are  contained  in  the  Gospels. 

Firstly.  An  angel  having  appeared  in  a  dream  to 
a  man  named  Joseph,  father,  or  at  least  so  reputed, 
of  Jesus,  son  of  Mary,  said  unto  him  : 

"  Joseph,  thou  son  of  David  fear  not  to  take  unto 
thee  Mary  thy  wife,  for  that  which  is  conceived  in 
her  is  of  the  Holy  Ghost.     And  she  shall  bring 


Testament  of  John  Me  slier.  325 

forth  a  Son,  and  thou  shalt  call  His  name  jESUS ; 
for  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins." 

This  angel  said  also  to  Mary : 

"  Fear  not,  Mary,  for  thou  hast  found  favor  with 
God.  And  behold,  thou  shalt  conceive  in  thy 
womb  and  bring  forth  a  Son,  and  shalt  call  His 
name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shl.ll  be  called 
the  Son  of  the  Highest :  and  the  Lord  God  shall 
give  unto  Him  the  throne  of  His  father  David. 
And  He  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for- 
ever ;  and  of  His  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end  !  " 

Jesus  began  to  preach  and  to  say : 

"  Repent,  for  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand. 
Take  no  thought  for  your  life,  what  ye  shall  eat,  or 
what  ye  shall  drink,  nor  yet  for  your  body  what  ye 
shall  put  on.  Is  not  the  life  more  than  meat,  and 
the  body  than  raiment,  for  your  Heavenly  Father 
knoweth  that  ye  have  need  of  all  these  things. 
But  seek  ye  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  His 
righteousness,  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you." 

Now,  let  every  man  who  has  not  lost  common 
sense,  examine  if  this  Jesus  ever  was  a  king,  or  if 
His  disciples  had  abundance  of  all  things.  This 
Jesus  promised  to  deliver  the  world  from  sin.  Is 
there  any  prophecy  which  is  more  false  ?  Is  not 
our  age  a  striking  proof  of  it  ?  It  is  said  that  Jesus 
came  to  save  His  people.  In  what  way  did  He 
save  it?  It  is  the  greatest  number  which  rules  any 
party.  For  example,  one  dozen  or  two  of  Span- 
iards or  Frenchmen  do  not  constitute  the  French 
or  Spanish  people ;  and  if  an  army  of  a  hundred 


326  Abstract  of  the 

and  twenty  thousand  men  were  taken  prisoners  of 
war  by  an  army  of  enemies  which  was  stronger, 
and  if  the  chief  of  this  army  should  redeem  only  a 
few  men,  as  ten  or  twelve  soldiers  or  officers,  by 
paying  their  ransom,  it  could  not  be  claimed  that 
he  had  delivered  or  redeemed  his  army.  Then, 
who  is  this  God  who  has  been  sacrificed,  who  died 
to  save  the  world,  and  leaves  so  many  nations 
damned  ?     What  a  pity  !  and  what  horror ! 

Jesus  Christ  says  that  we  have  but  to  ask  and  we 
shall  receive,  and  to  seek  and  we  shall  find.  He 
assures  us  that  all  we  ask  of  God  in  His  name  shall 
be  granted,  and  that  if  we  have  faith  as  a  grain  of 
mustard-seed,  we  could  by  one  word  remove  moun- 
tains. If  this  promise  is  true,  nothing  appears  im- 
possible to  our  Christ-worshipers  who  have  faith  in 
Jesus.  However,  the  contrary  happens.  If  Mo- 
hammed had  made  the  promises  to  his  votaries 
that  Christ  made  to  His,  without  success,  what 
would  not  be  said  about  it.  They  would  cry 
out,  "Ah,  the  cheat!  ah,  the  impostor!"  These 
Christ-worshipers  are  in  the  same  condition  :  they 
have  been  blind,  and  have  not  even  yet  recov- 
ered from  their  blindness  ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
are  so  ingenious  in  deceiving  themselves,  that 
they  pretend  that  these  promises  have  been  ful- 
filled from  the  beginning  of  Christianity ;  that 
at  that  time  it  was  necessary  to  have  miracles, 
in  order  to  convince  the  incredulous  of  the  truth 
of  religion  ;  but  that  this  religion  being  sufficient- 
ly established,  the  miracles  were  no  longer  necessa- 
ry.    Where,  then,  is  their  proof  of  all  this? 


Testament  of  John  Me  slier.  327 

Besides,  He  who  made  these  promises  did  not 
limit  them  to  a  certain  time,  or  to  certain  places, 
or  to  certain  persons ;  but  He  made  them  gener- 
ally to  everybody.  The  faith  of  those  who  be- 
lieve, says  He,  shall  be  followed  by  these  miracles ; 
"  They  shall  cast  out  devils  in  My  name,  they  shall 
speak  in  divers  tongues,  they  shall  handle  ser- 
pents," etc. 

In  regard  to  the  removal  of  mountains.  He  posi- 
tively says  that  "  whoever  shall  say  to  a  mountain  : 
'  Be  thou  removed,  and  be  thou  cast  into  the  sea  ;  '  it 
shall  be  done ;  "  provided  that  he  does  not  doubt 
in  his  heart,  but  believes  all  he  commands  will  be 
done.  Are  not  all  these  promises  given  in  a  gen- 
eral way,  without  restriction  as  to  time,  place,  or 
persons  ? 

It  is  said  that  all  the  sects  which  are  founded  in 
errors  and  imposture  will  come  to  a  shameful  end. 
But  if  Jesus  Christ  intends  to  say  that  He  has  es- 
tablished a  society  of  followers  who  will  not  fall 
either  into  vice  or  error,  these  words  are  absolutely 
false,  as  there  is  in  Christendom  no  sect,  no  socie- 
ty, and  no  church  which  is  not  full  of  errors  and 
vices,  especially  the  Roman  Church,  although  it 
claims  to  be  the  purest  and  the  holiest  of  all.  It 
was  born  into  error,  or  rather  it  was  conceived  and 
formed  in  error;  and  ez'en  tiozv  it  is  full  of  delu- 
sions which  are  contrary  to  the  intentions,  the  sen- 
timents, or  the  doctrine  of  its  Founder,  because  it 
has,  contrary  to  His  intention,  abolished  the  laws 
of  the  Jews,  which  He  approved,  and  which  He 
came   Himself,  as  He  said,  to  fulfill  and   not  to 


328  Abstract  of  the 

destroy.  It  has  fallen  into  the  errors  and  idolatry 
of  Paganism,  as  is  seen  by  the  idolatrous  worship 
which  is  offered  to  its  God  of  dough,  to  its  saints, 
to  their  images,  and  to  their  relics. 

I  know  well  that  our  Christ-worshipers  consider 
it  a  lack  of  intelligence  to  accept  literally  the 
promises  and  prophecies  as  they  are  expressed  ; 
they  reject  the  literal  and  natural  sense  of  the 
words,  to  give  them  a  mystical  and  spiritual  sense 
which  they  call  allegorical  and  figurative ;  claim- 
ing, for  example,  that  the  people  of  Israel  and  Ju- 
dea,  to  whom  these  promises  were  made,  were  not 
understood  as  the  Israelites  after  the  body,  but  the 
Israelites  in  spirit :  that  is  to  say,  the  Christians 
which  are  the  Israel  of  God,  the  true  chosen  people  •, 
that  by  the  promise  made  to  this  enslaved  people, 
to  deliver  it  from  captivity,  it  is  understood  to  be 
not  the  corporal  deliverance  of  a  single  captive  peo- 
ple, but  the  spiritual  deliverance  of  all  men  from 
the  servitude  of  the  Devil,  which  was  to  be  accom- 
plished by  their  Divine  Saviour  ;  that  by  the  abun- 
dance of  riches,  and  all  the  temporal  blessings 
promised  to  this  people,  is  meant  the  abundance 
of  spiritual  graces ;  and  finally,  that  by  the  city  of 
Jerusalem,  is  meant  not  the  terrestrial  Jerusalem, 
but  the  spiritual  Jerusalem,  which  is  the  Christian 
Church. 

But  it  is  easy  to  see  that  these  spiritual  and  alle- 
gorical meanings  having  only  a  strange,  imaginary 
sense,  being  a  subterfuge  of  the  interpreters,  can 
not  serve  to  show  the  truth  or  the  falsehood  of  a 
proposition,  or  of  any  promises  whatever.     It  is 


Testament  of  JoJin  Mc slier  329 

ridiculous  to  forge  such  allegorical  meanings,  since 
it  is  only  by  the  relations  of  the  natural  and  true 
sense  that  we  can  judge  of  their  truth  or  false- 
hood. A  proposition,  a  promise,  for  example, 
which  is  considered  true  in  the  proper  and  natural 
sense  of  the  terms  in  which  it  is  expressed,  will  not 
become  false  in  itself  under  cover  of  a  strange  sense, 
one  which  does  not  belong  to  it.  By  the  same 
reasoning,  that  which  is  manifestly  false  in  its 
proper  and  natural  sense,  will  not  become  true 
in  itself,  although  we  give  it  a  strange  sense,  one 
foreign  to  the  true. 

We  can  say  that  the  prophecies  of  the  Old  Tes- 
tament adjusted  to  the  New,  would  be  very  absurd 
and  puerile  things.  For  example,  Abraham  had 
two  wives,  of  which  the  one,  who  was  but  a  serv- 
ant, represented  the  synagogue,  and  the  other  one, 
his  lawful  wife,  represented  the  Christian  Church ; 
and  that  this  Abraham  had  two  sons,  of  which  the 
one  born  of  Hagar,  the  servant,  represented  the 
Old  Testament ;  and  the  other,  born  of  Sarah,  the 
wife,  represented  the  New  Testament.  Who  would 
not  laugh  at  such  a  ridiculous  doctrine? 

Is  it  not  amusing  that  a  piece  of  red  cloth,  ex- 
hibited by  a  prostitute  as  a  signal  to  spies,  in  the 
Old  Testament  is  made  to  represent  the  blood  of 
Jesus  Christ  shed  in  the  New?  If — according  to 
this  manner  of  interpreting  allegorically  all  that  is 
said,  done,  and  practiced  in  the  ancient  law  of  the 
Jews — we  should  interpret  in  the  same  allegorical 
way  all  the  discourses,  the  actions,  and  the  advent- 
ures of  the    famous  Don  Quixote  de  la  Mancha, 


33©  Abstract  of  the 

we  would  find  the  same  sort  of  mysteries  and  ridic- 
ulous figures. 

It  is  nevertheless  upon  this  absurd  foundation 
that  the  whole  Christian  religion  rests.  Thus  it  is 
that  there  is  scarcely  anything  in  this  ancient  law 
that  the  Christ-worshiping  doctors  do  not  try  to 
explain  in  a  mystical  way  to  build  up  their  system. 
The  most  false  and  the  most  ridiculous  prophecy 
ever  made  is  that  of  Jesus,  in  Luke,  where  it  is  pre- 
tended that  there  will  be  signs  in  the  sun  and  in 
the  moon,  and  that  the  Son  of  Man  will  appear  in 
a  cloud  to  judge  men  ;  and  this  is  predicted  for  the 
generation  living  at  that  time.  Has  it  come  to 
pass?    Did  the  Son  of  Man  appear  in  a  cloud  ? 

VII. — ERRORS  OF  DOCTRINE  AND  OF  MORALITY. 

The  Christian  Apostolical  Roman  Religion 
teaches,  and  compels  belief,  that  there  is  but  one 
God,  and,  at  the  same  time,  that  there  are  three 
Divine  persons,  each  one  being  God.  This  is  ab- 
surd ;  for  if  there  are  three  who  are  truly  God,  then 
there  are  three  Gods.  It  is  false,  then,  to  say  that 
there  is  but  one  God  ;  or  if  this  is  true,  it  is  false  to 
say  that  there  are  really  three  who  are  God,  for  one 
and  three  can  not  be  claimed  to  be  one  and  the 
same  number.  It  is  also  said  that  the  first  of  these 
pretended  Divine  persons,  called  the  Father,  has 
brought  forth  the  second  person,  which  is  called 
the  Son,  and  that  these  first  two  persons  together 
have  produced  the  third,  which  is  called  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and,  nevertheless,  these  three  pretended 
Divine  persons  do  not  depend  the  one  upon  the 


Testament  of  John  Me  slier.  331 

other,  and  even  that  one  is  not  older  than  the 
other.  This,  too,  is  manifestly  absurd ;  because 
one  thing  can  not  receive  its  existence  from  another 
thing  without  some  dependence  on  this  other;  and 
a  thing  must  necessarily  exist  in  order  to  give 
birth  to  another.  If,  then,  the  Second  and  the 
Third  persons  of  Divinity  have  received  their  exist- 
ence from  the  First  person,  they  must  necessarily 
depend  for  their  existence  on  this  First  person, 
who  gave  them  birth,  or  who  begot  them,  and  it  is 
necessary  also  that  the  First  person  of  the  Divinity, 
who  gave  birth  to  the  two  other  persons,  should 
have  existed  before  them  ;  because  that  which  does 
not  exist  can  not  beget  anything.  Nevertheless, 
it  is  repugnant  as  well  as  absurd  to  claim  that  any- 
thing could  be  begotten  or  born  without  having 
had  a  beginning.  Now,  according  to  our  Christ- 
worshipers,  the  Second  and  Third  persons  of  Divin- 
ity were  begotten  and  born ;  then  they  had  a  be- 
ginning, and  the  First  person  had  none,  not  being 
begotten  by  another ;  it  therefore  follows  necessa- 
rily that  one  existed  before  the  other. 

Our  Christ-worshipers,  who  feel  these  absurdities 
and  can  not  avoid  them  by  any  good  reasoning, 
have  no  other  resource  than  to  say  that  we  must 
ignore  human  reason  and  humbly  adore  these  sub- 
lime mysteries  without  wishing  to  understand  them ; 
but  that  which  they  call  faith  is  refuted  when  they 
tell  us  that  we  must  submit ;  it  is  telling  us  that 
we  must  blindly  believe  that  which  we  do  not  be- 
lieve. Our  Christ-worshipers  condemn  the  blind- 
ness of  the  ancient  Pagans,  who  worshiped  several 


^^2  Abstract  of  the 

Gods ;  they  deride  the  genealogy  of  those  Gods, 
their  birth,  their  marriages,  and  the  generating  oi 
their  children ;  yet  they  do  not  observe  that  they 
themselves  say  things  which  are  much  more  ridicu- 
lous and  absurd. 

If  the  Pagans  believed  that  there  were  Goddesses 
as  well  as  Gods,  that  these  Gods  and  Goddesses 
married  and  begat  children,  they  thought  of  noth- 
ing, then,  but  what  is  natural ;  for  they  did  not 
believe  yet  that  the  Gods  were  without  body  or 
feeling ;  they  believed  they  were  similar  to  men. 
Why  should  there  not  be  females  as  well  as  males  ? 
It  is  not  more  reasonable  to  deny  or  to  recognize 
the  one  than  the  other ;  and  supposing  there  were 
Gods  and  Goddesses,  why  should  they  not  beget 
children  in  the  ordinary  way?  There  would  be 
certainly  nothing  ridiculous  or  absurd  in  this  doc 
trine,  if  it  were  true  that  their  Gods  existed.  Bui 
in  the  doctrine  of  our  Christ-worshipers  there  is 
something  absolutely  ridiculous  and  absurd ;  for 
besides  claiming  that  one  God  forms  Three,  and 
that  these  Three  form  but  One,  they  pretend  that 
this  Triple  and  Unique  God  has  neither  body, 
form,  nor  face ;  that  the  First  person  of  this  Triple 
and  Unique  God,  whom  they  call  the  Father,  begot 
of  Himself  a  Second  person,  which  they  call  the 
Son,  and  which  is  the  same  as  His  Father,  being, 
like  Him,  without  body,  form,  or  face.  If  this  is 
true,  why  is  it  that  the  First  one  is  called  Father 
rather  than  mother,  or  the  Second  called  Son  rather 
than  daughter?  For  if  the  First  one  is  really  father 
instead  of  mother,  and  if  the  Second  is  son  instead 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  333 

of  daughter,  there  must  be  something  in  both  of 
these  two  persons  which  causes  the  one  to  be  father 
rather  than  mother,  and  the  other  to  be  son  rather 
than  daughter.  Now  who  can  assert  that  they  are 
males  and  not  females?  But  how  should  they  be 
rather  males  than  females,  as  they  have  neither 
body,  form,  nor  face  ?  That  is  not  an  imaginable 
thing,  and  destroys  itself  No  matter,  they  claim 
chat  these  two  Persons,  without  body,  form,  or 
face,  and,  consequently,  without  difference  of  sex, 
are  nevertheless  Father  and  Son,  and  that  they 
produced  by  their  mutual  love  a  third  person,  whom 
they  called  the  Holy  Ghosi-,  who  has,  like  the  other 
two,  no  body,  no  form,  and  no  face.  What  abomi- 
nable nonsense ! 

As  our  Christ-worshipers  limit  the  pov»^r  of  God 
the  Father  to  begetting  but  one  Son,  why  do  they 
not  desire  that  this  Second  person,  and  the  Third, 
should  have  the  same  power  to  beget  a  Son  like 
themselves  ?  If  this  power  to  beget  a  son  is  perfec- 
tion in  the  First  person,  it  is,  then,  a  perfection  and 
a  power  which  does  not  exist  in  the  Second  and  in 
the  Third  person.  Thus  these  two  Persons,  lacking 
a  perfection  and  a  power  which  is  found  in  the 
First  one,  they  are  consequently  not  equal  with 
Him.  If,  on  the  contrary,  they  say  that  this  power 
to  beget  a  son  is  no  perfection,  they  should  not 
attribute  it,  then,  to  the  First  person  any  more 
than  to  the  other  two  ;  for  we  should  attribute  per- 
fections only  to  an  absolutely  perfect  being.  Be- 
sides, they  would  not  dare  to  say  that  the  power 
to  beget  a  Divine  person  is  not  a  perfection ;  and 


334  Abstract  of  the 

if  they  claim  that  this  First  person  could  have  be- 
gotten several  sons  and  daughters,  but  that  He  de- 
sired but  this  only  Son,  and  that  the  two  other 
persons  did  not  desire  to  beget  any  others,  we  could 
ask  them,  firstly,  from  whence  they  know  this,  for 
we  do  not  see  in  their  pretended  Holy  Scriptures 
that  any  One  of  these  Divine  personages  reveals 
any  such  assertions ;  how,  then,  can  our  Christ- 
worshipers  know  anything  about  it  ?  They  speak 
but  according  to  their  ideas  and  to  their  hollow 
imaginations.  Secondly,  We  could  not  avoid  say- 
ing, that  if  these  pretended  Divine  personages  had 
the  power  of  begetting  several  children,  and  did 
not  wish  to  make  use  of  it,  the  consequence  would 
be  that  this  Divine  power  was  ineffectual.  It  would 
be  entirely  without  effect  in  the  Third  person,  who 
did  not  beget  or  produce  any,  and  would  be  almost 
without  effect  in  the  two  others,  because  they  lim- 
ited it.  Then  this  power  of  begetting  or  producing 
an  unlimited  number  of  children  would  remain  idle 
and  useless ;  it  would  be  inconsistent  to  suppose 
this  of  Divine  Personages,  One  of  whom  had  already 
produced  a  Son. 

Our  Christ-worshipers  blame  and  condemn  the 
Pagans  because  they  attribute  Divinity  to  mortal 
men,  and  worship  them  as  Gods  after  their  death  ; 
they  are  right  in  doing  this.  But  these  Pagans  did 
only  what  our  Christ-worshipers  still  do  in  attrib- 
uting Divinity  to  their  Christ ;  doing  which,  they 
condemn  themselves  also,  because  they  are  in  the 
same  error  as  these  Pagans,  in  that  they  worship  a 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  335 

man  who  was  mortal,  and  so  very  mortal  that  He 
died  shamefully  upon  a  cross. 

It  would  be  of  no  use  for  our  Christ-worshipers 
to  say  that  there  was  a  great  difference  between 
their  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Pagan  Gods,  under  the 
pretense  that  their  Christ  was,  as  they  claim,  really 
God  and  man  at  the  same  time,  while  the  Divinity 
was  incarnated  in  Him,  by  means  of  which,  the 
Divine  nature  found  itself  united  personally,  as 
they  say,  with  human  nature  ;  these  two  natures 
would  have  made  of  Jesus  Christ  a  true  God  and  a 
true  man  ;  this  is  what  never  happened,  they  claim, 
in  the  Pagan  Gods. 

But  it  is  easy  to  show  the  weakness  of  this  reply ; 
for,  on  the  one  hand,  was  it  not  as  easy  to  the  Pa- 
gans as  to  the  Christians,  to  say  that  the  Divinity 
was  incarnated  in  the  men  whom  they  worshiped 
as  Gods  ?  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  Divinity 
wanted  to  incarnate  and  unite  in  the  human  nature 
of  their  Jesus  Christ,  how  did  they  know  that  this 
Divinity  would  not  wish  to  also  incarnate  and  unite 
Himself  personally  to  the  human  nature  of  those 
great  men  and  those  admirable  women,  who,  by 
their  virtue,  by  their  good  qualities,  or  by  their 
noble  actions,  have  excelled  the  generality  of  peo- 
ple, and  made  themselves  worshiped  as  Gods  and 
Goddesses  ?  And  if  our  Christ-worshipers  do  not 
wish  to  believe  that  Divinity  ever  incarnated  in 
these  great  personages,  why  do  they  wish  to  per- 
suade us  that  He  was  incarnated  in  their  Jesus  ? 
Where  is  the  proof?    Their  faith  and  their  belief; 


336  Abstract  of  the 

but  as  the  Pagans  rely  on  the  same  proof,  we  con- 
clude both  to  be  equally  in  error. 

But  what  is  more  ridiculous  in  Christianity  than 
in  Paganism,  is  that  the  Pagans  have  generally  at- 
tributed Divinity  but  to  great  men,  authors  of  arts 
and  sciences,  and  who  excelled  in  virtues  useful  to 
their  country.  But  to  whom  do  our  God-Christ- 
worshipers  attribute  Divinity  ?  To  a  nobody,  to  a 
vile  and  contemptible  man,  who  had  neither  talent, 
science,  nor  ability  ;  born  of  poor  parents,  and  who, 
while  He  figured  in  the  world,  passed  but  for  a 
monomaniac  and  a  seditious  fool,  who  was  dis- 
dained, ridiculed,  persecuted,  whipped,  and,  finally, 
was  hanged  like  most  of  those  who  desired  to  act 
the  same  part,  when  they  had  neither  the  courage 
nor  skill.  About  that  time  there  were  several 
other  impostors  who  claimed  to  be  the  true  prom- 
ised Messiah  ;  amongst  others  a  certain  Judas,  a 
Galilean,  a  Theodorus,  a  Barcon,  and  others  who, 
under  this  vain  pretext,  abused  the  people,  and 
tried  to  excite  them,  in  order  to  win  them,  but 
they  all  perished. 

Let  us  pass  now  to  His  discourses  and  to  some 
of  His  actions,  which  are  the  most  singular  of  this 
kind  :  "  Repent,"  said  He  to  the  people,  "  for  the 
kingdom  of  Heaven  is  at  hand  ;  believe  these  good 
tidings."  And  He  went  all  over  Galilee  preaching 
this  pretended  approach  of  the  kingdom  of  Heaven. 
As  no  one  has  seen  the  arrival  of  this  kingdom 
of  Heaven,  it  is  evident  that  it  was  but  imaginary. 
But  let  us  see  other  predictions,  the  praise,  and 
the  description  of  this  beautiful  kingdom. 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  337 

Behold  what  He  said  to  the  people  : 
The  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  likened  unto  a  man 
who  sowed  good  seed  in  his  field.  But  while  he 
slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  among  the 
wheat,  and  went  his  way.  Again,  the  kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  like  unto  treasure  hidden  in  a  field,  the 
which,  when  a  man  has  found,  he  hideth  again,  and 
for  joy  thereof  goes  and  sells  all  that  he  has,  and 
buys  that  field.  Again,  the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is 
like  unto  a  merchantman  seeking  goodly  pearls, 
who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price, 
went  and  sold  all  he  had,  and  bought  it.  Again, 
the  kingdom  of  Heaven  is  like  unto  a  net  that 
was  cast  into  the  sea,  and  gathered  of  every  kind  ; 
which,  when  it  was  full,  they  drew  to  shore,  and 
sat  down  and  gathered  the  good  into  vessels,  but 
cast  the  bad  away.  It  is  like  a  grain  of  mustard- 
seed,  which  a  man  took  and  sowed  in  his  field 
which,  indeed,  is  the  least  of  all  seeds,  but  when  it 
is  grown  it  is  the  greatest  among  herbs,  etc. 

Is  this  a  language  worthy  of  a  God  ?  We  will 
pass  the  same  judgment  upon  Him  if  we  examine 
His  actions  more  closely.  Because,  firstly,  He  is 
represented  as  running  all  over  a  country  preaching 
the  approach  of  a  pretended  kingdom  ;  Secondly, 
As  having  been  transported  by  the  Devil  upon  a 
high  mountain,  from  which  He  believed  He  saw 
all  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  ;  this  could  only 
happen  to  a  visionist ;  for  it  is  certain,  there  is 
no  mountain  upon  the  earth  from  which  He 
could  see  even  one  entire  kingdom,  unless  it  was 
the  little  kingdom  of  Yvetot,  which  is  in  France ; 


338  Abstract  of  the 

thu3  it  was  only  in  imagination  that  He  saw  all 
these  kingdoms,  and  was  transported  upon  this 
mountain,  as  well  as  upon  the  pinnacle  of  the 
temple.  Thirdly,  When  He  cured  the  deaf-mute, 
spoken  of  in  St.  Mark,  it  is  said  that  He  placed 
His  fingers  in  the  ears,  spit,  and  touched  his  tongue, 
then  casting  His  eyes  up  to  Heaven,  He  sighed 
deeply,  and  said  unto  him  :  "  Ephphatha  !  "  Fi- 
nally, let  us  read  all  that  is  related  of  Him,  and 
we  can  judge  whether  there  is  anything  in  the 
world  more  ridiculous. 

Having  considered  some  of  the  silly  things  at- 
tributed to  God  by  our  Christ-worshipers,  let  us 
look  a  little  further  into  their  mysteries.  They 
worship  one  God  in  three  persons,  or  three  persons 
in  one  God,  and  they  attribute  to  themselves  the 
power  of  forming  Gods  out  of  dough,  and  of  mak- 
ing as  many  as  they  want.  For,  according  to  their 
principles,  they  have  only  to  say  four  words  over  a 
certain  quantity  of  wine  or  over  these  little  images 
of  paste,  to  make  as  many  Gods  of  them  as  they 
desire.  What  folly  !  With  all  the  pretended  power 
of  their  Christ,  they  would  not  be  able  to  make 
the  smallest  fly,  and  yet  they  claim  the  ability  to 
produce  millions  of  Gods.  One  must  be  struck  by 
a  strange  blindness  to  maintain  such  pitiable  things, 
and  that  upon  such  vain  foundation  as  the  equivocal 
words  of  a  fanatic.  Do  not  these  blind  theologians 
see  that  it  means  opening  a  wide  door  to  all  sorts 
of  idolatries,  to  adore  these  paste  images  under  the 
pretext  that  the  priests  have  the  power  of  conse- 
crating them  and  changing  them  into  Gods  ?    Can 


Testament  of  John  Meslier.  339 

not  the  priests  of  the  idols  boast  of  having  a  simi- 
lar ability  ? 

Do  they  not  sec,  also,  that  the  same  reasoning 
which  demonstrates  the  vanity  of  the  gods  or  idols 
of  wood,  of  stone,  etc.,  which  the  Pagans  worshiped, 
shows  exactly  the  same  vanity  of  the  Gods  and  idols 
of  paste  or  of  flour  which  our  Christ-worshipers 
adore  ?  By  what  right  do  they  deride  the  falseness 
of  the  Pagan  Gods  ?  Is  it  not  because  they  are  but 
the  work  of  human  hands,  mute  and  insensible  im- 
ages ?  And  what  kind  of  Gods  are  those  which  we 
preserve  in  boxes  for  fear  of  the  mice  ? 

What  are  these  boasted  resources  of  the  Christ- 
worshipers  ?  Their  morality?  It  is  the  same  as  in 
all  religions,  but  their  cruel  dogmas  produced  and 
taught  persecution  and  trouble.  Their  miracles? 
But  what  people  has  not  its  own,  and  what  wise 
men  do  not  disdain  these  fables  ?  Their  prophe- 
cies? Have  we  not  shown  their  falsity?  Their 
morals?  Are  they  not  often  infamous?  The  es- 
tablishment of  their  religion?  but  did  not  fanati- 
cism begin,  and  has  not  intrigue  visibly  sustained 
this  edifice  ?  The  doctrine  ?  but  is  it  not  the  height 
of  absurdity? 


END  OF  THE  ABSTRACT  BY  VOLTAIRE. 


'^^  ^li'-,.-..    «■  iiMiiiMIMIIilllllMII 

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